Dodge’s creative sendoff for the aging Challenger and Charger is well underway, with five of seven 2023 special edition cars announced to date. The latest is the Dodge Charger King Daytona, a tribute to drag racing legend William “Big Willie” Robinson.
The Last Call special edition Charger and Challenger models we’ve seen so far have been based on the Scat Pack configuration, which meant a 6.4-liter V8 making 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque. Dodge couldn’t slap a name like King Daytona on a car and go halfway with the powertrain, though, so the fifth Last Call car sports a Hellcat Redeye Widebody configuration.
Rather than settle for the Redeye’s “pedestrian” 797 horsepower, Dodge bumped output to 807 ponies in the King Daytona. The supercharged V8 pairs with an eight-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive.
Dodge paints every Charger King Daytona in Go Mango paint to honor Robinson’s original car, and it rides on black wheels. Unique King Daytona graphics on the rear quarter panel are the only other exterior indication that the car is not a standard Redeye. Inside, the car features interior accent stitching, black Nappa/Alcantara seats, a Harman Kardon sound system, a suede headliner, and a power sunroof.
Dodge will roll out a total of seven Last Call cars, six of which will be revealed before the SEMA show in early November. In addition to King Daytona, so far we’ve seen the Dodge Challenger Shakedown, Dodge Charger Super Bee, and the Challenger and Charger each gets a Scat Pack Swinger.
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Chris Teague
News Editor, Autoblog