Dodge Teases The V8 Return That Might Not Happen

Everyone seems to be talking about how Dodge is supposedly going to bring the V8 back to the Charger lineup soon. Speculation about this comes from an interview Dodge’s new CEO gave recently, even though he confirms absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, we’ve seen Dodge pull enough garbage over the last few years to know this could be a tease and nothing more.

Ford issues another big recall, this time for trucks and SUVs.

We understand why enthusiasts want to believe the V8 is coming back to the Dodge Charger. Hopefully it’s true, but we also know Dodge’s CEO is kind of clueless when it comes to what enthusiasts want. And he’s beholden to his bosses in Holland, where parent company Stellantis is based.

There have been rumors that Dodge engineers designed the new, weird-looking Charger so the Hemi V8 would slot right in under the hood. But those are rumors with nothing confirmed. And even if they did, the CEO admits in the interview the company is planning long-term, likely believing government regulations which have been rolled back by Trump will eventually come roaring back.

In other words, Stellantis is forging ahead with an electrification agenda, whether you want it or not. That’s the sad, shocking reality.

While Dodge has promised many things over the years, including making wild claims about the performance specs of the first Demon or promising so much and delivering so little with the security update, Stellantis seems even more likely to pull the rug out from under fans.

So while Dodge’s CEO sits there and drops crafty little hints that the Hemi V8 might come back to the Charger lineup, we wouldn’t hold our breath waiting for it. Some believe he can’t say anything yet or people won’t buy the Hurricane-powered cars right now. The joke’s on them, if you’ve seen Dodge’s sales lately, because the company is having trouble moving much of anything.

Image via Stellantis