History repeats itself in horrible ways.
Over and over again Dodge and many others keep telling us American muscle cars aren’t going anywhere. Yet the push to electrification coupled with stricter CAFE regulations downsizing the remaining ICE powertrains seems to be doing just that. The latest example is the Dodge Hornet, a grocery getter Italian crossover disguised as some sort of performance vehicle.
Watch police use Stop Sticks on a fleeing Dodge Hellcat here.
Really accentuating how ridiculous the spin around the Hornet, which by the way openly vandalizes one of the most storied nameplates in American automotive history, is the Hornet R/T GLH Concept that was recently revealed. Already, voices in the media are slobbering over this thing, like The Detroit News saying it carries on the “muscle car DNA” from the Challenger and Charger. What a joke.
If you’re wondering what GLH stands for, it apparently means “Go Like Hell.” That’s a phrase commonly associated with Carroll Shelby and his fight against Ferrari in LeMans back in the 60s, so modern Dodge is violating two automotive icons in one fell swoop. And that’s what we have to look forward to for the future of the brand: raiding the past to bring out the nostalgia feels to separate fools from their money.
What’s so muscular about this Dodge Hornet concept? Well, not really anything, but it does have those nifty racing stripes and a Hellcat-like hood, minus the supercharged Hemi V8. Instead, underneath is an absolutely pathetic turbocharged 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor. The ICE engine powers the front wheels and the electric motor drives the rear. Power is nowhere near what even the Scatpacks make, let alone the Hellcats and Redeyes.
Other “goodies” are thrown in like a lowered suspension, Track Pack, exhaust amplification (which on a small four-banger must sound absolutely awful), etc. If this thing becomes a production reality, expect a jaw-dropping price considering the Hornet R/T will set you back $41,000 MSRP. That’s insulting considering how much power we could get for our dollar with the Challenger and Charger.
The future of Dodge and muscle cars is looking rather bleak at the moment, a sad reality we might be dealing with for some time.
Images via Stellantis
Electric cars suck