2026 Dodge Charger Scat Pack, R/T finally cooking with gas | Reviews

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• The new 2026 Dodge Charger Scat Pack and Charger R/T bring gasoline-powered heat to the model
• The muscle car’s turbocharged inline-six makes 420 or 550 horsepower, depending on trim
• Prices start at $62,290 for the R/T, or $72,290 for the Scat Pack (versus $57,790 for the technically cancelled EV R/T, $89,790 for EV Scat Pack)

After weathering a withering for the better part of a year for daring to imbue its mighty muscle cars with (gasp!) electric power, Dodge has slipped a gas-burner under the hood of its two- and four-door 2026 Charger. Removing the “Daytona” suffix – that’s the one that denotes it’s an EV, remember – means yer Charger will be powered by a turbocharged straight-six engine making 550 horsepower, and have exhaust tips the way nature and the Dodge brothers intended.

No, it’s not a V8. That one’s coming later. Maybe. Perhaps. This is pure speculation by the author, but seeing Tim Kuniskis return to the helm of Stellantis and get the SRT gang back together gives us hope a Hemi engine will eventually make its way behind the grille of this new Charger. We’ll see. For now, we’ve the so-called Sixpack mill—and it’s a good’un.

The thing will be available in two flavours: R/T and Scat Pack. The former will produce 420 horsepower and 468 lb-ft of torque from the 3.0L ‘Hurricane’ twin-turbo straight-six; while the latter will wring 550 ponies and 531 lb-ft of twist from its six pots of fury. All-wheel-drive is part of the deal, packing the ability to enable on-demand rear-wheel-drive functionality and capable of sending 100% of torque to the rear wheels. A line-lock system will permit smoky burnouts, a Charger staple, while a front-axle disconnect helps improve fuel economy when the system figures AWD isn’t necessary, such as on a dry highway. There’s also a mechanical limited-slip diff hanging out in the back.

Weight distribution is apparently 55-45, a figure roughly the same as this author’s Challenger R/T, and better than a nose-heavy Hellcat. Weight of the new Scat Pack is estimated to be 4,816 lbs, about a thousand pounds less than the EV. Note that back in 2023, a V8-powered Scat Pack (6.4L Hemi with 485 hp and 475 tq) was listed at 4,361 lbs. That’s a gulf of 455 pounds, though the new car does make 65 more ponies and 56 more torques.

Dodge claims a performance-tuned active exhaust comes on these gas-powered models, including a dual-mode feature using electronically controlled valves to trigger a unique tuning character for each drive program. The brand is calling it “aggressive,” which it will need to be after the tepid feedback they got from the so-called Fratzonic chambered system on the EV.

We know—some will never accept anything other than a lumpy V8 idle, but a straight-six has the potential to sound otherworldly, and we are eager to see what Dodge engineers have cooked up in the lab.

This gasser loses the EV’s unique R-Wing front spoiler, a feature unnecessary for this type of powertrain, instead using the space for cooling intakes and making room for the inline-six. The rest of the car seems to largely carry over from the EV, including the hatchback (that doesn’t look like a hatchback) rear design providing 37.4 cubic feet of space when the rear seat are flopped forward.

Top brass kept banging on about this thing being a ‘wide-body’—and they have a point. Overall width without mirrors is a truck-like 79.8 inches, comparing favourably to the old Scat Pack Widebody, at 78.3 inches. Track measures of the new car are 68.4 and 68.7 inches front/rear; the old car was 65.6 and 65.3, respectively.

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Wild paint colours are a Dodge speciality, so the brand is launching with ones like Green Machine, Bludicrous, Peel Out, and Redeye. The likes of After Dark, Triple Nickel, and, White Knuckle will also be on tap.

What about the interior, you ask? Well, if you’ve seen the Daytona, you’ve seen these cars, essentially. This gasser will naturally have different programming baked into parts of its infotainment system in order to control a gasoline-fuelled powertrain instead of an EV, but the space will be very familiar. And that’s not a bad thing. There’s a 10.25-inch cluster in front of the driver and another 12.3-inch centre display; a pistol-grip shifter slightly modded for non-EV duty; and options like a panoramic glass roof or real carbon-fibre interior accents.

Dodge says the R/T will be available in Canada at a starting price of $62,290; while the Scat Pack starts at $72,290. Opting for four doors will cost an extra three grand. Ordering books open this month for the two-door Scat Pack, and in the first half of next year for the sedan. Anyone wanting the R/T should know Dodge plans to have coupe versions of that one available in the first half of 2026. And, yes, Dodge claims the Charger will be assembled in Windsor, Ontario.

Yee to the haw. Let it rock.

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