The house of Stellantis is currently a place of high drama and questionable fortune. While the new CEO, Antonio Filosa, and the ubiquitous Tim Kuniskis have managed to pull Jeep and Ram Trucks back from the brink of a “sad fate”, the same can’t be said for Dodge. The brand is fading into the shadows, and fans are starting to panic.
By the end of this year, Dodge is set to kill off the Hornet, its second best-seller as of 2025, leaving the lineup looking like a ghost town with only the ancient Durango and the new eighth-generation Charger left to carry the torch.
The new Dodge Charger is currently trading its soul for electric motors and the Hurricane inline-six, but Kuniskis has teased that a V8 engine “would make sense”. Specifically, there’s hope for the 777-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter V8 found in the 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX. Until that savior arrives, however, we are forced to find comfort in the smoky clouds of the drag strip.
A recent viral showdown at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway captured by the Wheels YouTube channel serves as a poignant reminder of what we’re losing. The star was a massive Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, which decided to play bully to its smaller siblings. In a battle of gray-toned titans, the Durango took on a Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye. While the SUV lost with a respectable 10.86 seconds against the Redeye’s 10.54, the Durango was just getting warmed up.
In a fit of “SUV rage”, the Dodge Durango proceeded to absolutely hammer a Challenger R/T, clocking a 10.44-second run against a sluggish 13.11. To prove it wasn’t a fluke, it then lined up against a Charger sedan and posted a 10.47, leaving the sedan in the dust at 12.56 seconds. Ironically, the Durango’s later times would have actually beaten the Redeye from the first round.
It’s a classic lesson in Mopar physics. You have to give it your all when it counts, not just when you’re beating up on an easy opponent.
