2022 saw the first all-electric Muscle car. It came from Dodge and it’s called the Charger Daytona EV. Despite the controversial reception mainly by die-hard MOPAR enthusiasts, it could be how EVs become more exciting. With that said, it did not take long for folks to start reimagining Dodge’s e-Muscle in ways that would bring back other iconic nameplates, and the Magnum is certainly among those. We know Dodge is also cooking up a RAM EV truck, but that’s still two years away. While we haven’t heard anything about a new Magnum just yet, there are a few good reasons Dodge might be considering an EV successor.

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An All-American EV Muscle Car For The Family

2023 Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Shooting Brake
TheSketchMonkey on YouTube

Whether you are against electrification or are embracing it, you have to admit that the Dodge Charger Daytona EV is one of the coolest all-electric vehicles among recent debuts. With a 2+2 coupe layout and a big hatchback, meaning it comes with plenty of practicality. Our sister site, HotCars wrote about a digital incarnation of the EV Muscle car that features a station wagon body style, similar to the Dodge Magnum and Chrysler 300C Touring.

Everybody loves fast station wagons as proven by Audi’s Avant lineup, which started with the Porsche-built RS2. Like most of Chrysler and Dodge’s iconic names, the Magnum nameplate has been around since 1978. There were also Brazilian and Mexican versions of the car that were quite different from the US and Canadian spec Magnums. The latest iteration of the Magnum was produced between 2004 and 2008, and like other full-size Chrysler products of that time, it was underpinned by the LX platform.

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A Shooting Brake Magnum?

We are no strangers to seeing “what if” conversions done by graphic designers. The Dodge Charger in particular, has been the subject of many digital conversions since. Unlike the Magnum, the sedan was not discontinued in 2008. Now the torch has been picked up by the all-electric Charger Daytona and digital artists jlord8 and TheSketchMonkey, have already gone to town on the electric coupe. While jlord8 has gone for a traditional four-door station wagon design, the other design goes for a shooting brake design while retaining the two/three-door format and factory wheelbase.

A New Magnum Would Be An All-Electric Jack Of All Trades

2008 Dodge Magnum SRT8
Dodge

When the 2004 Magnum came out, it managed to combine V-8 power with Muscle car vibes, a luxurious and spacious interior, and station wagon practicality. While it wasn’t Chrysler’s most successful product, it was good enough to achieve 40,000 sales per year throughout its production cycle. Moreover, it was named the best new modern Muscle car by Canadians in the 2006 Canadian Car of the Year contest. With a 6.1-liter (370 cu-in) Hemi V-8 under the hood, packing 425 horsepower (317 kilowatts) and 420 pound-feet (569 Nm), the 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) was dispatched in 4.8 seconds on to a top speed of 170 mph (273 km/h).

The STLA skateboard platform has a lot of potential as proven by the Charger Daytona EV. A four-door wagon/shooting brake model based on the same chassis sounds like the ultimate family Muscle car of the future. Currently, we know of three different power outputs for the 2023 Dodge Charger Daytona EV.

The first one comes with 456 horsepower (340 kilowatts), but e-Stage 1 and e-Stage 2 upgrades are available. Those produced 496 and 536 horsepower (370 and 400 kilowatts) respectively. A 440-badged variant with 590 horsepower (440 kilowatts) is also available and can be boosted to 630 or 670 horsepower through an over-the-air update process.

We also know a proper performance version is on the way, which would be the EV equivalent of the Hellcat models. Those numbers are stout enough to make for some more-than-adequate performance and would also allow a revived, Magnum EV to be the ultimate family Muscle car.

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An Easier Transition To Electrification

1969 Dodge Charger R/T and 2023 Dodge Charger Daytona SRT
TheSketchMonkey

Given Chrysler’s rich history of making unapologetic, tire-shredding V-8-powered Muscle cars, the mixed reception of Dodge’s e-Muscle car is not surprising. With that said, a station wagon variant of the Charger Daytona EV sold under the Magnum name would make the transition easier. While MOPAR enthusiasts are adamant that the combustion-powered V-8 models are way more exciting and true to the Muscle car roots, a more practical version could serve as a go-fast family car that has some of that Muscle car heritage instilled in it. Moreover, the 2024 Charger Daytona is a good all-rounder.

It’s not the best of times to be a car enthusiast and Dodge CEO, Tim Kuniskis, himself recognizes that. “We didn’t ask for the rules to change. “We didn’t want them to change, but they did. And we can try to outrun them, but that could be a nine-second pass straight into extinction”, Tim Kuniskis said during the unveiling of the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona EV.

This means that if demand for a sleeker, sportier version is present, an EV revival of the Viper could be prompted. On the other side of the spectrum a station wagon version – like the Magnum – would be a more practical offering. This, together with the upcoming RAM EV truck would make for an almost complete Dodge EV lineup. And while some die-hard MOPAR enthusiasts prefer to shoot themselves in the head to driving an electric car, it’s good to know the people at Dodge are trying to hold on to what makes MOPARs great.