As we approach the midway point of the Dodge "Speed Week" at the famous Woodward Avenue in Detroit, the future of Dodge and its muscle car-heavy lineup becomes clearer. With the Dodge faithful worried about the inevitable electrification of their beloved gas guzzlers, CEO Tim Kuniskis announced Monday that the 20-year-old L-series body would not go quietly.
After announcing their two-year "Never Lift" plan this past weekend, Kuniskis revealed the next three days will see multiple announcements regarding their current muscle lineup, future muscle lineup, and an all-new concept car.
Taking place at "the epicenter of street performance" according to Kuniskis, Dodge hopes to keep their current owners happy while attracting a new demographic with their highly anticipated EV concepts. However, their live stream on Monday was all about the L-series Challenger, Charger, and Durango.
Updated November 2022: With Dodge going out with a bang in their current muscle car line-up, several special edition Dodge muscle cars showed up at the SEMA 2022 car show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Read on to see the limited edition "Last Call" Dodge Challengers that showed up at the important automotive event this year.
Going Out With A Bang
Wanting to properly send off the L-series, Kuniskis' announcements start with a bang after revealing the upcoming "Dragpak."
In collaboration with their private parts supplier, Direct Connection, Dodge will begin building dedicated drag-inspired Challengers and Chargers with one huge caveat. It comes as a rolling chassis. Giving customers full creative freedom, Dodge plans to make all of their powertrains available for sale in conjunction with the rolling chassis for no more than $90,000.
The Carbon Fiber Restomod Of Your Dreams
Continuing with the creative freedom theme, Dodge also plans to bulk up their bodywork game with sales of a brand new primed body for around $8,000 while unveiling their all-new carbon fiber body parts for just about any dodge muscle car ever made — including the stunning 1970 Charger picture above.
Kuniskis also addressed many of the L-series' performance needs with multiple new bolt-on supercharger kits and the venerable 8-speed transmission from Torqueflite.
An Itch Only The Hellcat Durango Can Scratch
Although Kuniskis plans to unveil the future of the muscle car tomorrow, he squeezed in two, technically new, models after revealing a convertible Hellcat Challenger and the return of the Hellcat Durango for the 2023 model year.
Following up the exciting reveals with bittersweet news, Kuniskis remind us the upcoming L-series cars will be the last of their kind as Dodge plans to retire their best-selling lineup at the end of December. But not before announcing the return of retro paint schemes like Plum Crazy Purple and Destroyer Gray, in addition to a dedicated plaque in the engine compartment signifying the last of a dying breed.
Saving the best for last, Kuniskis reveals the plans for six special edition marques through the coming weeks, each with availability more limited than the last. In addition, there's a seventh muscle car set to debut later this year at SEMA. With no real information on these cars, we're left with is a cryptic license plate reading "1FAST29," perhaps alluding to a 2.9 second 0-60 MPH time.
Dodge Takes SEMA 2022 By Storm
The recent SEMA 2022 car show had a strong showing from Dodge's "Last Call" muscle cars. While there were tons of Restomods and other modified classics at SEMA, the star of the show was from Dodge themselves.
Dodge showed off their Black Ghost Challenger (as shown above), Dodge Charger Super Bee, Challenger and Charger Swinger, and the Charger King Daytona. With all these new special editors, it is great to see Dodge going out with a bang.