Next-Gen Charger to Drop Weight and Gain a Turbo-Four

1999 Dodge Charger R/T Concept (Credit: © Dodge)

Chrysler has remained pretty loyal to its L-series rigs, which include the 300, the Challenger, and the Charger, as it has kept them in roughly their original forms since the platforms launched in 2005. Today, we learn from Automotive News that the LD platform—AKA the Charger—is scheduled for replacement, and with this will come big changes.

According to the report, which quotes unnamed insiders from Dodge, the next-gen Charger, which will come sometime after 2020, will move to a lengthened version of the 2017 Giulia’s platform. With this move will come a roughly 500-pound purge that’ll drop the sedan to around 3,500 pounds and the introduction of a new 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that it’ll share with the next-gen Wrangler.

Muscle car fanatics are likely mashing their heads against a wall, as the Charger was one of the last of the true beasts that avoided the move to four cylinders. At the very least, these folks can rest a little easier knowing that this will be a 300-horsepower twin-turbo unit and not some asthmatic wheeze box that can barely get out of its own way.

With it sharing a platform with the Giulia, I can’t help but wonder if it will also benefit from its Italian sibling’s 505-horsepower 3.9-liter twin-turbo V-6. If this ends up a reality, it would be a cure-all for the ails of a standard four-banger powerplant.

As for the look of the new Charger, Dodge gave dealers a glimpse of it last August, and the consensus says it resembles the original Charger concept from 1999.

Why is Dodge waiting so long to release this new Charger? According to the report, Dodge feels it can milk one more refresh from the aging LD-based Charger before it needs a complete redo.

We’ll keep an eye on this developing story and bring you updates as they become available.