Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat reportedly returning with supercharged V8 in late 2027

V8 comeback reportedly locked in for late 2027

Dodge is reportedly preparing to bring back the Charger SRT Hellcat with a supercharged 6.2-litre V8. According to Automotive News, whose reporting was picked up by CarExpert, a planning document seen by the trade publication indicates production of the Hellcat Charger will begin in late 2027. It is not yet clear when the car would go on sale or reach customer driveways, and CarScoops reports the revived model is being planned as a 2028 model year vehicle despite launching in 2027. ¹²

Torquecafe describes the Automotive News document as the most concrete report yet that the Hellcat nameplate will return to the Charger, having last been used on the 2023 version of the sedan and its related Challenger coupe counterpart. Suppliers have reportedly been told to expect around 12,000 Hellcat examples annually. ³

The company itself is not confirming any of it. When Automotive News sought comment, Stellantis said the details were 'purely speculation/rumour' and that the automaker 'will not comment on future product strategy'. The closest the automaker has come to an official confirmation, according to CarExpert, is its announcement at the 2026 Investor Day in May that it was developing an SRT variant for the Charger range. ¹

Sales context: 12,000 Hellcats would double Charger volume

A reported 12,000-unit annual target is large relative to how the current Charger has been selling. CarExpert, citing Good Car Bad Car data, notes Dodge shifted just 5165 Chargers in 2025, most of them electric Daytona variants, and 8029 in the first nine months of 2026 with petrol Sixpack models in production. CarScoops separately cites 8786 examples of the current Charger through the first three quarters of 2026; the two outlets' nine-month totals differ, and neither explains the gap. Both reports state that just 767 electric Chargers have been sold in 2026, which CarExpert attributes to Automotive News. ¹²

Even hitting the reported target would not restore the nameplate's former scale. Modern Charger sales peaked in 2019 at 96,936 V6 and V8 sedans, and the closely related Challenger's best year was 2018 with 66,716 sales, according to figures reported by CarExpert. ¹

Which engine, and what output

The revived Hellcat is expected to use a version of the 6.2-litre supercharged V8 from the previous-generation Charger sedan and Challenger coupe, which in standard trim made 527kW and 881Nm. Torquecafe notes the ultimate Redeye versions made up to 594kW and 959Nm, and that Stellantis has since restarted production of the supercharged 6.2-litre engine with increased outputs of 579kW and 922Nm for the returning Ram 1500 TRX pickup. ¹³

The blown V8 has never fully gone away: CarScoops notes it continues in the Ram 1500 SRT TRX and has recently been added to the 777-horsepower Ram Rumble Bee SRT. Limited technical details are known about the Charger version, though CarScoops expects more than 700 horsepower, with visual upgrades such as a large hood scoop and possibly flared fenders, and its reporting characterises power as going exclusively through the rear wheels. ²

A drivetrain question remains open in other reporting: Torquecafe says there is no word on whether the new Hellcat would be rear-wheel drive like its predecessors or adopt the all-wheel drive system of the current twin-turbo six-cylinder Charger. Charger Hellcat inputs first surfaced a few months ago in a teaser appearing to show a Charger with a large rear wing, per CarScoops, and Torquecafe reports the returning muscle car will feature a big wing influenced by one of the most famous NASCARs. ²³

No cheaper V8 expected, and a platform caveat

Enthusiasts hoping for an affordable V8 Charger may be out of luck. CarExpert reports Tim Kuniskis, head of SRT, told Motor Trend at the beginning of the year that if the company 'were to put a V8 in the [Charger we] would probably go to Hellcat instead of 5.7'. Torquecafe quotes the same comments from the Detroit motor show: 'The only way it makes sense to charge for [an optional Hemi] now is I have to go all the way up to a Hellcat', adding 'when you get into that rare air, the take rate is pretty small'. ¹³

Torquecafe also raises a technical caveat: while the Ram 1500 regained a V8 after its mid-life update, the Charger runs on the STLA Large architecture, which it reports only supports the twin-turbo straight-six. CarExpert adds that the omission of an eight-cylinder option in the latest Charger was part of a drive by former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to phase out V8 engines in favour of six-cylinder mills and electric drivetrains. ¹³

The current Charger lineup it will join

The current 'LB' Charger went on sale in early 2025 as a sedan and coupe, the latter effectively replacing the long-lived Challenger, according to CarExpert. For most of 2025 it was sold exclusively as the electric Daytona with either 370kW/548Nm or 500kW/850Nm, before two Sixpack models with a 3.0-litre twin-turbo Hurricane straight-six were added late in 2025, making 313kW/635Nm in standard form or up to 447kW/720Nm in high-output trim. Torquecafe dates the new-generation Charger's debut to 2024, with the Sixpack variants added in 2025. ¹³

Car and Driver's overview of the 2027 Charger lists the current engine line-up as 420-, 550- and 600-horsepower versions of the twin-turbo 3.0-litre inline-six in R/T Sixpack, Scat Pack and Super Bee trims, all with all-wheel drive as standard and an eight-speed automatic, plus a rear-drive mode. For 2027 Dodge is reviving the Super Bee nameplate on a 600-horsepower six-cylinder variant with upgraded cooling, revised front-end aerodynamics, beefier Brembo brakes, Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3 summer tyres and new dual-valve adaptive dampers; production will be limited, though Car and Driver notes Dodge has not yet given pricing or production figures. The publication also reports Stellantis has reversed its decision to discontinue the Hemi, with all three previous-generation V8s back in production at the Dundee Engine Plant in Michigan, while there is still no official word on when a V8 will return to the Charger. ⁴

Torquecafe frames the timing against the wider market, noting reports that Ford and Chevrolet will be launching V8-powered sedans based on the Mustang and Camaro in the near future. Car and Driver, meanwhile, identifies the Mustang as the Charger's only direct competitor in the American muscle car segment, the Chevrolet Camaro having disappeared at the end of 2024. ³⁴