- Dodge has confirmed a higher-performance variant of the new electric Charger Daytona called the Banshee is coming sometime next year.
- Unlike other Charger EVs, the Banshee will feature an 800-volt architecture and a two-speed transmission.
- Since Dodge promised the Banshee will beat the Hellcat’s performance, we expect over 807 horsepower and a quarter-mile time in the 10-second range.
When Dodge revealed the Daytona SRT Concept about 18 months ago, it essentially gave everyone a sneak peek at the new electric Charger that was officially introduced today. The production versions that are going on sale this fall look nearly identical to the concept, but they lack some of the most impressive equipment, namely the two-speed transmission and the 800-volt electrical architecture. Now, Dodge has confirmed those are reserved for the Banshee, the top-spec performance model that’s coming sometime in 2025.
Banshee > Hellcat
Think of the Banshee as the electric equivalent of the outgoing Hellcat, which featured the most powerful versions of the Hemi V-8. Those big-displacement, gas-guzzling engines were known for making headlines as much as for their huge horsepower figures. However, now that the Hellcat V-8 has been sent to, er, the opposite of heaven, Dodge needs a new type of powerplant to top the old one. Enter the Banshee.
Dodge hasn’t confirmed any of the Banshee’s performance estimates or power figures. Still, we can confidently speculate about them based on what we know about the new Charger Daytona Scat Pack as well as the fact that the company has promised that the EV’s performance will exceed that of the Hellcat model.
Since the mightiest Hellcat-powered Charger was the Redeye Jailbreak model with 807 horsepower, the Banshee will assuredly be more powerful than that. Of course, Dodge also managed to coax 840 horsepower from the supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 on the Challenger Demon, and then followed that up with the Demon 170 that featured the ultimate Hellcat engine, which made 1025 horses with the help of E85 gasoline.
Still, although it’s possible the Banshee debuts with a four-digit horsepower figure, we think it’s more likely that mark will be reserved for a future hi-po electric Charger rather than the first one. Dodge also said the Banshee will be available Direct Connection Stage kits like the 400-volt Chargers, so it’s possible one of those pushes it past the 1000-hp threshold.
With the Charger Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak being the bogey, the all-wheel-drive Banshee should easily be able to beat its claimed 60-mph and quarter-mile times. Dodge put the gas model’s estimates at 3.6 seconds and 10.6 seconds, respectively. Considering the new 670-hp Charger Daytona Scat Pack is claimed to hit 60 mph in 3.3 seconds, the Banshee should do the deed in less than three seconds, and it should finish the quarter-mile in about 10 ticks.
We think the Banshee will come standard with the contents of the Track Pack that’s optional on the Daytona Scat Pack. That means a set of adaptive dampers, Brembo brakes with 16.1-inch rotors and fixed six-piston front calipers, and Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires measuring 305 mm wide in the front and 325 mm wide in the back. If the Daytona SRT Concept is any indication, the Banshee will also have similar 21-inch wheels with a turbine-like design and center-locking nuts.
In the past, Dodge has gone head-to-head with other gas-powered rivals such as the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro. With the Charger now emerging as the lone electric muscle car, it might have to face a new type of high-powered domestic competition in the form of the 1020-hp Tesla Model S Plaid and the 1234-hp Lucid Air Sapphire. If that’s the case, we can’t wait to see what the performance EV landscape looks like during the next few years.
Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.