The Chevrolet Camaro is gone. The Dodge Challenger is gone. That leaves the Ford Mustang on their own on this planet of Detroit muscle automobiles. So it is pure for individuals to label the brand new Dodge Charger as a Mustang rival. It’s accessible with two doorways, primarily changing the Challenger. Dodge calls it a muscle automotive, be it because the electric Charger Daytona or the combustion-powered Charger Sixpack coming subsequent 12 months. But if you happen to evaluate the 2 side-by-side, you will perceive they’re not likely opponents.
The new Dodge Charger lives in a very completely different zip code from the Mustang. It may even span two zip codes, as a result of it is solely two inches shorter than a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Parked side-by-side, you’d by no means discover the distinction between them. And for the document, these numbers aren’t only for the four-door, however the two-door Charger, too. It’s enormous.
We cannot bear in mind the final time an American model constructed such a large coupe. The Challenger by no means cracked 200 inches, nor the Chevrolet Monte Carlo when it retired in 2008. Popular Nineteen Nineties coupes just like the Ford Thunderbird and Chevy Lumina get shut, as do the boxy Eighties G-body automobiles (assume Oldsmobile Cutlass and Buick Regal) from General Motors, all of that are close to or barely over 200 inches.
Initially, we thought the final American two-door automotive as large as the brand new Charger was a Ford Crown Victoria. Though uncommon, Ford supplied the boxy Crown Vic in two-door trim via 1987. A fast verify on the Ford Heritage Vault confirms it stretched 211 inches from nostril to tail. But, Motor1 readers are superior, they usually remind us that the Lincoln Mark VIII and Buick Riveria each measured round 207 inches throughout their temporary run within the Nineteen Nineties. Not fairly as outdated because the Vic, however nonetheless we’re nonetheless speaking 25 years in the past.
Here’s a fast chart displaying how the 2024 Charger Daytona stacks as much as the Mustang and different autos of curiosity, each previous and current.
Make/Model | Length (inches) | Width (inches) | Weight (kilos) |
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona | 206.6 | 84.3 | 5,838 |
2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse | 189.7 | 81.9 | 3,975 |
2024 Mercedes-Benz S-Class | 208.2 | 83.0 | 4,740 |
2024 Porsche Taycan | 195.4 | 84.5 | 4,568 |
2023 Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye | 201.0 | 78.3 | 4,586 |
2023 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye | 197.5 | 78.3 | 4,415 |
1987 Ford Crown Victoria 2-Door | 211.0 | 77.5 | 3,699 |
1968 Dodge Charger | 208.8 | 76.6 | 4,035 |
If the Charger was a tad smaller, we is likely to be tempted to name it a Mustang rival. But there’s also the issue of weight. The Charger Daytona comes it at practically three tons, or about one and a half Mustangs with somewhat left over. To be honest, we do not but know the way a lot the gas-powered Charger Sixpack will weigh. But it nonetheless dwarfs the Mustang in a direct dimension comparability.
We requested Dodge for some steerage on Charger opponents, however the firm declined to remark. An official angle will come nearer to the Charger Daytona’s on-sale date later this 12 months, however we will inform you the automaker benchmarked the Camaro and Porsche Taycan (amongst others) throughout the Charger’s growth. So whereas there is a little bit of pony automotive affect baked into the recipe, it is actually not a Mustang competitor. If something, we might say the brand new Charger is in a category all by itself.