Hemi V8 returns in new Dodge Charger Drag Pak
No way was the quarter-mile 'Hustle Stuff' Charger giving up on insane Hemi power just yet...
It was all too obvious that a car like this was coming soon. Both Dodge and its rivals have demonstrated the amazing abilities of battery power when it comes to drag racing, yet the latest road-going Charger EV has gone down about as well as a Thanksgiving without turkey; there was no way that the competition car was going to take such an audacious leap. It’d be worse than the Bud Light fallout.
So here we have Dodge’s quarter-mile specialist, the Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak by Direct Connection, looking like the very latest showroom model - but packing the old school muscle that customers still absolutely crave. Thanks to a supercharged 354-inch Hemi V8, this Charger will run 440-yard sprints faster than you can say its name, with sub-eight-second ETs claimed by Dodge.
The Drag Pak isn’t all just brute force, however, with some useful weight-saving features over the old Challenger Drag Pak equivalent. The monster V8 gets a new aluminium block and pistons, plus a billet belt tensioner for the ‘charger; alongside some carbon body bits (doors, bonnet, hatch), this should be around 45 kilos lighter than before. Dodge says both static and rotating masses have been reduced, which will benefit a car all about off-the-line acceleration; with stronger suspension, axles and driveshafts than before as well, performance is said to take a meaningful step on from the old Challenger.
Committed Drag Pak customers can also optionally go for a Lightweight Engine Component Package, a Racetech Lightweight Carbon Seat Kit and even a Driveline Lightweight Package, with features like a carbon driveshaft to save every last kilo. Or pound, rather. Because while the Hustle Stuff Drag Pak by Direct Connection (not getting any catchier) is a Dodge Charger dedicated to the strip, complete with parachute, wheelie bar and NHRA-certified cage, that doesn’t mean it goes without customisation possibilities.
Buyers will be able to choose from 18 exterior colours, including old favourites like Plum Crazy, Sublime and Go Mango, plus three graphics packs, so it’s easy to imagine some looking even better than the White Knuckle one seen here; there’s also a rear anti-roll bar and Data Package available. Just in case there was ever any doubt how seriously drag racing, and drag race cars, are taken in the US.
Dodge is in no doubt whatsoever, which is why it’s offering up prize money for those who compete with their Drag Pak in the National Hot Road Association’s Factory Stock Showdown. Whoever wins the inaugural 2026 event, the Gatornationals in Florida (real name) next March, will pocket $26,000. Not a bad return for the racing distance covered, though likely small change to any of the 50 folk lucky enough to get a Charger HSDPbDC - because it costs $234,995, or £175,000. Excluding taxes. So you’re going to have to really love drag racing and really love V8s. All the cars are going to be built by Riley Technologies in Mooresville, North Carolina, with allocations open from today on a first-come, first-served basis. Form an orderly queue…
A little off topic, but does "hemi" mean anything anymore? Originally, it was to distinguish the engine design from old "flat heads" where the combustion chamber was a simple cylinder, the valve stems were parallel and the intake and exhaust ports were forced to turn through 90 degrees at the valve. In these days of (almost) everything being DOHC, parallel valve stems are a thing of the past anyway and with modern understanding of fluid mechanics, we have far better shapes for combustion chambers so presumably it's just a brand-name now?
A bit like Porsche calling their EVs "turbo".
A little off topic, but does "hemi" mean anything anymore? Originally, it was to distinguish the engine design from old "flat heads" where the combustion chamber was a simple cylinder, the valve stems were parallel and the intake and exhaust ports were forced to turn through 90 degrees at the valve. In these days of (almost) everything being DOHC, parallel valve stems are a thing of the past anyway and with modern understanding of fluid mechanics, we have far better shapes for combustion chambers so presumably it's just a brand-name now?
A bit like Porsche calling their EVs "turbo".
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