Since its reintroduction over a decade ago, the Dodge Charger sedan has been a staple in police fleets across America.
With the unveiling of a new generation featuring revamped powertrains, there’s speculation regarding Dodge’s plans to continue to supply law enforcement with specialized Chargers. While no definitive decisions have been made, Dodge’s CEO hinted at ongoing deliberations.
During a recent media briefing, Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis acknowledged the significance of police service vehicles to the brand’s operations.
While affirming that they are actively exploring this aspect of their business, Kuniskis refrained from making any specific announcements regarding plans. However, he did not disclose the exact proportion of Charger sales attributed to law enforcement agencies.
Should Dodge proceed with developing a new Charger police car, it would likely involve the latest generation sedan recently unveiled. Consequently, the older model is no longer in production, ruling out the possibility of a continued “classic” Charger akin to Ram’s strategy with the 1500 pickup trucks.
Unlike the outgoing model, which offered a range of engine options, including the naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6 and 5.7-liter V8, the new generation will solely feature electric or “Hurricane” twin-turbo straight-six powertrains for consumer models.
While there are electric police-ready vehicles available, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, there remains a demand for high-output engines akin to the previous Dodge V8 or a variant of the new Hurricane engine.
Given that many police cars utilize lower-output engines, like the Pentastar V6, there’s speculation on whether Dodge would introduce a police-exclusive version featuring this engine, which remains in production and is offered in the base Ram 1500.
With production of the new Charger sedan slated to commence next year, it may be some time before a new police model is introduced. Consequently, motorists may not need to worry about checking their speedometers immediately upon encountering the new Charger’s presence in their rearview mirrors.
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