Mopar fans were enthusiastic when a sleek new 1999 Dodge Charger concept was shown. V8-powered, running on natural gas, the Charger concept was an evolution of the LH design, clearly built to cut through the air at high speeds.

The actual Charger, when it arrived, was more true to the original in terms of its basic shape, albeit with four doors instead of two.


Now, reports from the dealer preview in Nevada indicate that the next Charger will owe more to the ’99 than to the ’09 or ’15. There have also been separate rumors that the Charger will switch to a twin-turbo V6, with the extra-reliable source oh2o concurring on this point. The V6 powerplant, combined with lower weight, would likely produce better performance than the current 5.7 Hemi and may even outrun the 392 SRT cars.


Using a V6 would allow Chrysler to cut back on the size of the engine bay for lower weight and better weight balance, while squeezing better gas mileage from the car. It would also reduce engineering costs by allowing more sharing of the basic design with the Alfa Romeo equivalent.

The car is not due until calendar year 2018-2020.