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Could the Dodge Charger go turbo?

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Dodge Charger R/T
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The Dodge Charger might be a completely different kind of sedan in ten years’ time. A recent report finds that Dodge is planning comprehensive changes for its four-door muscle car in a bid to make it lighter, and markedly more efficient.

While the Chrysler 300 could shift to front-wheel drive in a few short years, the Charger will remain rear-wheel drive. The aging LX platform that underpins the current model (pictured) will finally be axed, and the sedan will be built on a longer evolution of the Giorgio architecture that’s found under the Alfa Romeo Giulia’s head-turning sheet metal.

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The shift will make the next-gen Charger about 500 pounds lighter than the current model, a diet that will benefit both fuel economy and driving dynamics. However, its overall dimensions aren’t expected to change drastically, and it will continue to offer a spacious cabin with room for five passengers.

More updates will be found under the hood. A source close to Dodge parent company Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles recently revealed to Automotive News that the next Charger will be offered with a twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine for the first time in the nameplate’s long history. The turbo four will generate 300 horsepower, roughly the same amount of grunt generated by the Charger’s current 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, and it will be bolted to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Read more: Is the end near for one of America’s last big rear-wheel-drive sedans?

The current Charger isn’t going away any time soon. A brand new model won’t arrive until early next decade, so the Charger that Dodge currently sells will be given one final face-lift in time for the 2019 model year. However, technical details will begin to trickle out a little sooner because the aforementioned turbo four will be inaugurated next year by the all-new Jeep Wrangler.

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Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon
Contributor
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
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