The current-generation Dodge Charger is old, and by old, I really mean old. It’s been around since 2005 and while Dodge has managed to keep the fire simmering with new variants and special edition models, there are reports that Fiat Chrysler will keep the model going until after 2019. That’s an incredibly long time for one generation of a car, let alone a car with the status of the Charger. But don’t feel too bad Charger fans because once the next-generation model arrives, it’s going to be a very different car after reports came out that the model will lose close to 500 pounds in weight and could come with a four-cylinder turbocharged engine.

According to Automotive News, engineers and designers from FCA are working on making the new car lighter than the current model, which tips the scales at 3,960 pounds as its curb weight. The automaker plans to have the new model down to about 3,500 pounds, a weight that could come in handy when it’s combined with the same 300-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder that’s currently being developed for the 2018 Jeep Wrangler. There are also plans to switch the Charger from its existing platform to an extended version of the Alfa Romeo Giulia’s “Giorgio” platform, giving engineers and designers a more modern platform for the new model.

While this is all exciting news, don’t expect the model to burst into the scene for at least another five years. The 2019 facelift for the LX-generation model could last for another year or two so the early expectations for the new model would be around 2022 or 2023. It’s still a long way from today and with the evolving state of the auto industry, there’s no telling if today’s plans will be put to action when it’s finally time for the next-generation Charger to be built.

Still, FCA seems to be confident of its plans for the muscle car. It even showed an early styling buck of the next-gen model during a private show for dealers back in August 2015. The design was even compared to the 1999 Charger concept that was penned by former Chrysler design guru Tom Gale.

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Why it matters

This is the kind of news that’s tricky to hang your hat on given the length of time that needs to pass before we these reports are actually confirmed. Now, Dodge or Fiat Chrysler can skip all of that if they just confirm it off the bat, but that’s unlikely to happen. So we’re left with this report and probably four or five more years of waiting to see if it actually happens.

That said, I’m not going to lie. I get excited any time there’s a report about the next-generation Dodge Charger. I mean, for crying out loud, I’ve been clamoring for Dodge and/or FCA to cut the cord on this generation’s model. It’s served it’s purpose. It’s made a lot of drivers happy. It’s time for it to be put to bed for good. I don’t know what FCA’s reasons us for keeping the LX-generation Charger going, but 10 years of service – and another four or five more – is really milking it for everything it’s worth. Sure, it’s been refreshed twice and yes, another facelift is on the way, but how many times can FCA dip into this well before it realizes that the well has completely run dry.

That’s exactly the position FCA is putting itself on and I can’t help but feel bad for the Charger for being stuck in this position. It deserves better in my opinion and if FCA does give it another facelift as it plans to do, it better be one that gives the LX-generation Charger the send-off it properly deserves. And if these reports for the next-generation model are accurate, FCA better make sure that the next-gen model is going to live up to all the expectations that people, myself included, are already putting on it years before it even hits the market.

Dodge Charger

Read our full review on the Dodge Charger here.