Dodge gave members of the public their first opportunity to see the four-door Charger Daytona last weekend at SpringFest 2025 in Southern California. The automaker has released several images of the car in the past, but this is our first chance to see it up close and painted in a special shade of blue known as Bludicrous.

While the new two-door Charger could be best viewed as a replacement to the Challenger, the four-door is a direct successor to the previous-gen Charger. No, it will not be sold with a V8, and we will have to make do with an electric powertrain or, for those yearning for an ICE, a twin-turbocharged six.

Read: Does The 2025 Dodge Charger Sedan Outmuscle Its Predecessor In Style?

While we don’t mind the shape of the two-door Charger, the doors do look a little too small and the space between the doors and the rear wheels is way too big. Fortunately, the proportions of the four-door Charger Daytona look a little nicer, and this paint color is spectacular. It could look even better with a widebody kit, but we’ll likely have to wait some time for Dodge to launch such a model.

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Customer deliveries for the four-door Charger were initially scheduled to start in Q1 2025, but production has been delayed until May, with the car launching for the 2026 model year.

In addition to showcasing this Bluedicrous Charger, Dodge brought along the black and red two-door model it previewed last week. It is bathed in black with matte black racing stripes with hundreds of small Fratzog logos and red pin stripes. Dodge’s online configurator doesn’t include these stripes, which is a shame, as we think they suit the car nicely and could be popular among shoppers if they were available.

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Well, it was inevitable. The first crashed 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona, or at least the first one we know about since customers started getting their hands on them, has made its appearance online. And because the universe has a sense of humor, it’s already up for sale. If you’re one of those people who loves a good gamble and prefers your vehicles with a touch of “character,” this is your lucky day.

More: Someone Already Crashed A 2026 Tesla Model Y Juniper After Only 197 Miles

This particular wreck is a 2024 Charger Daytona R/T, which is the base model starting at $59,595, before you start adding options like the $595 Demonic Red seats this one comes with, or deducting the sweet discounts running up to $21,000 some dealers are offering just to move these things off the lot.

Being an R/T, it features a 93.9-kWh nickel-cobalt-aluminum battery powering front and rear motors, delivering up to 496 horsepower and a solid 0-60 mph (96 km/h) time of 4.7 seconds.

What Happened to This Daytona?

Photos IAAI

Now, onto the important stuff—the damage. This one didn’t make it past its first 682 miles (just under 1,100 km) before finding its match. From what we can gather, it either had a mild run-in with another car or maybe just collided with a stationary object. Who can really say?

While the front-end damage doesn’t seem catastrophic at first glance, it was enough to trigger the driver’s airbag, which we all know is usually the kiss of death for a car’s viability in the eyes of an insurance company. So, the insurance folks did what they do best and decided to write it off and call it a day.

More: Dodge Charger Rumored To Get Hemi V8 Power In 2026

On the outside, the damage on the electric Dodge seems pretty concentrated at the front: bumper, LED lights, and hood all took a hit. What lies beneath the sheet metal? Well, your guess is as good as ours. It’s entirely possible there’s more hidden damage under the surface, but for the right price, a skilled repair shop or even someone with some mechanical know-how might be able to bring this Charger Daytona back to life.

Feeling Lucky?

If you’re feeling adventurous and willing to take the risk the insurance company wasn’t, this Charger Daytona R/T is now up for auction at IAAI’s Texas division. You can check out the listing here before it hits the block in a few days. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be the one to take on this crashed Daytona and give it a second chance for a price that won’t make you cry.

Photos IAAI

As we enter the era of electric muscle cars, the question on everyone’s mind is: How do we compare them? In the latest U-Drag, we get as close to a direct comparison as you can ask for. The Ford Mustang Dark Horse squares off against the Dodge Charger Daytona in a battle of over 1,100 horsepower. Strap in, it’s about to get interesting.

The Stats: Not Always What They Seem

First, let’s talk about numbers because they can be deceptive or very telling. The Ford Mustang brings 500 horsepower (372 kW) and 418 lb-ft (566 Nm) of torque to the table from its naturally-aspirated, Gen-5 5.0-liter Coyote V8 engine. It tips the scales at 4,016 pounds (1,821 kg) and, like any true muscle car, sends all that power to the rear wheels.

Read: Can A $147K Corvette Z06 Beat A $371K Maserati MC20?

On the other side, we have the Charger—a different beast altogether. It’s all-electric and all-wheel drive. It makes 670 horsepower (499 kW) and 627 lb-ft (849 Nm) of torque. That’s a lot more than the Ford but the Dodge also weighs 5,972 pounds (2,708 kg). That’s nearly 33% heavier than the Mustang, which raises an important question: Does all that extra weight come with its own set of challenges?

The Race: Power vs. Handling

In theory, all of that should add up to better acceleration from the Dodge, but better braking and handling from the Ford. On tarmac, the first part of that prediction sure enough proves true. The Dodge rockets away from the Ford and puts a car length or more on it before the braking zone. Then, the Mustang begins to gain ground as the two enter the corner, and that’s where things start to get interesting.

In the past, electric vehicles really struggled toward the top-end of the speedometer. Now, things are different and the Charger uses its brute force to roll away from the corner and keep its lead. In race two, things are mostly the same but the ending is a bit different. Once again, the Charger leads off the line and into the corner.

There, the Mustang begins to pull ahead as it corners harder and exits a bit quicker. In fact, it does so well that it has at least a car-length lead on the Dodge as the two head for home. Sadly for Ford, the Mustang just doesn’t have enough power to get away though.

Close, But Not Quite Enough

The Dodge slowly but surely reels in the pony car and takes this victory 2-0. It’s a tight race, but when it’s all said and done, the Dodge Charger Daytona claims the win. The Mustang, for all its handling prowess, simply doesn’t have the power to hold off its electrified rival. Still, let’s not forget: the Mustang might have lost the race, but it sounds way more exciting doing it, no matter how hard Dodge tries to fake it with its synthetic Fratzonic engine noises.

Credit: Edmunds

One of the best things about owning a V8-powered muscle car is the usually intoxicating exhaust sound. The old Dodge Challenger had a particularly incredible roar on a cold start, and Dodge looks to have tried to replicate the experience with the new all-electric Charger Daytona. Has it done a good job? We’ll let you be the judge of that.

After perusing the net, we’ve found a few videos that nicely capture the “cold start” (more like power-up) of the Charger EV, which can be switched on remotely with the key fob. It uses the controversial Fratzonic ‘exhaust’ to try and replicate the sound of a V8 muscle car.

Watch: Dodge Charger Daytona EV Smokes 797HP Challenger Hellcat Redeye To 60 MPH

Hyundai arguably pioneered the use of fake ICE sounds in high-performance EVs with its widely-praised Ioniq 5 N. Dodge aimed to replicate this with the Fratzonic system, but it hasn’t received the same kind of praise Hyundai’s system has. This is probably because whereas the Ioniq 5 has no ICE predecessor, the Charger Daytona has to somehow fill in the shoes of one of the most beloved muscle cars, which, in recent years, has been sold with burbly V8 engines producing up to 1,025 hp.

Given Dodge’s history of building incredible muscle cars, releasing an EV was always going to cause controversy, and trying to make it sound like a V8 has naturally drawn comparisons with real eight-cylinder behemoths.

Obviously, the Charger Daytona’s “cold start” feature doesn’t sound as good as a V8, certainly not on video. Personally, I don’t think it sounds terrible, and it’s a little more interesting and engaging than having no sound at all. Dodge may not have failed to replicate the thrills of the old Challenger with its new-generation muscle car, but at least it tried to make something appealing for enthusiasts. After all, most EVs on the market feel like refrigerators on wheels and don’t even have the tiniest bit of emotion.

@appleautos This things actually super loud. #dodge #charger #hellcat #hellcatcharger #hellcatchallenger #hellcatredeye #demon #dodgedemon #challengerhellcat #chargerhellcat #supercharged #coldstart #loud #ev #newcar #carguy #cartok #carsoftiktok ♬ original sound – Apple Autos

In case it wasn’t obvious after several years of proof from various automakers, electric cars are seriously quick. All-wheel-drive EVs with gobs of power are understandably even faster. What might surprise some die-hard petrolheads, though, is that Dodge’s new Charger Daytona is quicker than a Challenger Hellcat Redeye.

The new Charger Daytona isn’t getting rave reviews. Whether that’s because of its electric motors, its lack of a V8 option, the inability to do a burnout, pricing, or something else, its welcome was lukewarm at best – and it’s likely why some dealers are offering massive discounts and Dodge itself is leasing it out at low rates.

More: Dodge Charger Daytona Lease Drops To As Low As $249 With $4K Down, 0% APR For 6 Years

What is not up for debate is how fast it is. According to Car And Driver, the Daytona Scat Pack with its 670 horsepower (499 kW) and all-wheel drive system managed to rocket from 0-60 mph (0- 96 km/h) in just 3.3 seconds. When the magazine tested the 797 hp (594 kW) Challenger Hellcat Redeye, which was rear-wheel drive, its best time was 3.8 seconds.

On the flip side, the Charger Daytona wasn’t as agile as a similarly rapid BMW i4 M50. Whereas the German electric sedan had a nicely tuned chassis and suspension, the Charger plowed through corners with “excessive understeer.”

It did manage to out-brake the BMW and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N though. On the skid pad, it matched the Hyundai and was 0.01 off the mark set by the BMW. That mix of skills might not be exactly what everyone wants, but it does make the Charger Daytona appealing to those whose main priority is straight-line acceleration.

In the end, buying a new Dodge Charger Daytona is a quick way to smoke every stock Challenger (and probably Charger) Hellcat you come across, alongside some much more expensive machinery. Having four fat tire patches all gripping and ripping, as well as instantly available torque, is just too much for the old ICE-powered Hell Kitty to handle.