The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona electrifies a hallowed muscle-car nameplate. And it features an elaborate sound generator to replicate the exhaust noise of the V-8 that will not be offered in the new Charger.
Unveiled in March, the Daytona is the all-electric version of the redesigned Charger, which will also be sold with a gasoline twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 engine. Electric models feature what Dodge calls the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust—named after Dodge’s Fratzonic logo.
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona
This artificial exhaust system uses transducers under the body to produce sound that is then amplified by resonators, much like the ones used in mufflers to alter sound, which is then piped out of the car. The system also considers speed and control inputs like steering and pedal pressure. This creates a reasonable facsimile of a V-8 exhaust note, as demonstrated in a video recently released by Dodge.
The sound in the video is for the Charger Daytona R/T and Charger Daytona Scat Pack models that arrive later this year as the first electric Charger variants. Dodge may create a different soundtrack for an expected higher-performance model coming later, rumored to be called the SRT Banshee.
The sound level is also alterable by drive mode. Sport mode delivers a medium sound output, while Drag, Drift, Donut, and Track make things louder. A Stealth mode is also available for those want to drive in silence without the artificial V-8 noises.
Federal rules require EVs to emit some kind of noise as a warning to pedestrians, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2023 even considered a petition to add these pedestrian-warning sounds to millions of older vehicles. But does that mean EVs should sound like the internal-combustion cars they’re meant to replace?
