Tag Archives: Dodge

Dodge Is So Back: A V-8 Revival Could Be Brewing in Detroit

Dodge is firing on all cylinders again—literally. After a brief flirtation with electrification under former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, the American muscle brand seems ready to burn some gasoline again. The latest buzz? Dodge might be bringing back a V-8-powered muscle car.

A new report from Bloomberg suggests that Stellantis is preparing a major U.S. manufacturing expansion under its new CEO, Antonio Filosa, doubling its previous $5 billion investment to a hefty $10 billion over the next few years. The cash infusion will focus on Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep, funding the reopening of shuttered plants in Illinois and Michigan, hiring hundreds of workers, and—here’s the fun part—potentially developing a new V-8 machine wearing the Dodge badge.

Let’s say it together: Hell. Yeah.

While Stellantis hasn’t confirmed anything yet, Bloomberg notes the investment “could result in a new Dodge V-8 muscle car.” That alone is enough to get every gearhead’s heart rate up.

This isn’t the first time the rumor mill’s revved up over a V-8 comeback. Back in August, when asked whether the new Charger’s platform could accommodate an eight-cylinder engine, Dodge CEO Matt McAlear coyly responded, “Don’t be surprised if it would fit.” That’s not exactly corporate-speak for “no.”

Since then, Dodge has quietly backed away from its ambitious EV roadmap. The high-performance Charger Banshee EV, once touted as the brand’s 900-horsepower electric halo car, has reportedly been canceled. Instead, Dodge is shifting its focus to the Charger Sixpack—a gas-powered model using the brand’s new twin-turbo inline-six—and a smaller lineup of streamlined EVs.

But with this latest investment and the sudden silence around the Banshee, the signs are impossible to ignore. The winds are changing in Auburn Hills.

For a brand that built its identity on tire smoke, noise, and unapologetic excess, a V-8 revival isn’t just a business move—it’s a homecoming. And if the rumors prove true, Dodge could soon be back where it belongs: lighting up drag strips, annoying homeowners’ associations, and reminding everyone why we fell in love with American muscle in the first place.

Source: Bloomberg

Roadkill Nights: Dodge Unleashes the Madness on Woodward Avenue

If you can hear a distant rumble coming from Michigan, don’t worry — it’s not thunder, it’s Dodge. And they’re bringing the storm to MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge this August 9, where horsepower is a language and Woodward Avenue is the dialect.

This isn’t your local cars-and-coffee. This is the 10th anniversary of Dodge’s biggest street-legal horsepower party, and they’re bringing more octane, more noise, and more tyre smoke than a drift competition held inside a fireworks factory.

The Calm Before the Burnout

The festivities kick off Friday, August 8, with Dodge revealing its newest muscle weapon. No one’s saying exactly what it is, but you can bet it’s going to be loud enough to scare squirrels in the next county. And for those who can’t physically stand in Pontiac and breathe in the premium-grade exhaust fumes, Dodge will be livestreaming the whole thing from 11 a.m. ET on YouTube.

Meet the Badassadors

In a move that sounds like something from a 90s rock tour, Dodge is unleashing their first-ever Badassadors. These are the brand’s hardcore, grease-under-the-nails superfans, armed with cameras, social followings, and enough passion for Mopar to power the grid. They’ll be on-site all weekend, mingling with fans, shooting content, and reminding the world that subtlety isn’t a Dodge personality trait.

The roster includes ex-Marines with Demon 170s, vintage car collectors, YouTubers with millions of views, and people who think swapping Hellcat engines into literally anything is a perfectly reasonable hobby.

Stars, Strips and 12,000 Horsepower

Tony Stewart, Leah Pruett, Matt Hagan, Ida Zetterstrom — basically the Avengers of NHRA — will be there, signing autographs and then promptly melting everyone’s retinas with 12,000-horsepower burnout runs. Yes, twelve thousand. That’s roughly the power output of a nuclear submarine, except this one has a blower the size of a microwave.

Also on the bill: the Direct Connection Grudge Race, the Ram 1500 NASCAR concept, the Raminator Monster Truck, Kenny Wayne Shepherd shredding the national anthem on guitar, and enough food trucks to feed a pit crew for a month.

Drag Racing in Dodge’s Backyard

This is the only legal time you’ll see quarter-mile drag runs on historic Woodward Avenue — a stretch normally patrolled by local cops with zero sense of humour about burnouts. Big Tire, Small Tire, cash prizes, and a walkable pit area so you can get up close and personal with the racers. And if you’re lucky, smell like racing fuel for the rest of the week.

For the Ones at Home

Can’t make it? No problem. From 4 to 9 p.m. ET, you can watch the madness online via MotorTrend, Dodge, and Dodge Garage YouTube channels. Not the same as feeling the shockwave of a Top Fuel burnout in your chest, but close enough that your neighbours might still call the noise complaint in advance.

Source: Stellantis

The Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak Seven Seats of Pure Anarchy

You don’t buy the 2026 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak. You unleash it. And then, much like any rampaging beast with a 710-horsepower supercharged HEMI V8, you hold on and pray it doesn’t turn around and eat you.

This is not a school-run SUV. Yes, it can carry seven humans and tow a small country. Yes, it has cupholders. But the Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak is less “suburban practicality” and more “what if the Batmobile had child seats?”

Jailbreak: A Prison Riot in Paint and Leather

In standard form, the Durango Hellcat already feels like Dodge’s middle finger to the idea of ‘restrained design.’ Jailbreak takes that finger, dips it in neon orange, stripes it in Redline Red, and bolts it to six different wheel choices. It’s a rolling declaration that subtlety died sometime in 1969.

And Dodge isn’t kidding about the options. Six body colors, five stripe combos, six wheel designs, four brake caliper colors, badge choices that range from “polished evil” to “comic-book villain,” and interiors in everything from moody black Alcantara to blood-red Laguna leather. Even the seat belts can be color-matched to your mood — sepia if you’re classy, Hammerhead Gray if you’re a Bond villain.

But the ultimate flex? A paint option in literally any color you can imagine. Yes, you can walk into a Dodge showroom and say, “Make mine the exact shade of my grandmother’s 1974 Formica kitchen countertop,” and they’ll do it. Your SUV becomes a one-off, a bespoke muscle tank.

The Heart of the Beast

The engine? Still the same 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI Hellcat V8, because frankly, what else would you want? It’s the most powerful gas-powered SUV engine in existence: 710 hp, 645 lb-ft of torque, and a sound that makes small dogs hide under the sofa.

That means 0–60 mph in the “are we there yet? oh yes we are” range and a towing capacity that laughs at your boat and says, “What else you got?”

Family-Friendly? Sort Of.

Sure, it’s a three-row SUV. It’s got room for your kids, their friends, and their friends’ questionable TikTok filming equipment. The Harman Kardon 19-speaker sound system can double as a small concert venue, and you can have all the driver aids if you want to keep it tame. But let’s be real — this is a 5,700-pound sledgehammer disguised as a family car.

It doesn’t whisper “safety.” It yells “hang on, Nana” and blasts past in a blur of octane and tire smoke.

The 2026 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak isn’t for everyone. In fact, it’s for almost no one. It’s an SUV for the kind of person who thinks the school drop-off line is a time trial, who wants to pick the color of their brake calipers with the same seriousness as a wedding suit, and who believes the words “too much horsepower” belong in fairy tales.

The world’s most powerful gas-powered SUV just broke out of prison. And it’s coming in whatever color you dare dream up.

Source: Stellantis