Dodge has been somewhat of a unicorn car manufacturer for some time now as the Charger and Challenger were quite literally automotive dinosaurs with gas-guzzling, excessive carbon-emitting, supercharged V-8s that were sitting atop a Mercedes E-Class chassis from the 1990s. Now though, Dodge is finally ready to run quarter miles in the 21st century with the new Charger Daytona SRT Concept, the first of potentially several all-electric muscle cars.

However, that raises some questions. Most notably, can you have a muscle car without a V-8? What does this mean for the future of the muscle car and the people that buy them? And what does all of it mean for Dodge?

Normally if you remove the V-8, the muscle car, at least as a concept, is just another car, nothing special whatsoever. It’s just an incredibly American creation that is a full-size sedan or coupe made of the cheapest materials you can find. The engine is what makes it special as that is where the noise and power come from, two of the most important factors of a true muscle car.

Since the Daytona SRT Concept is electric, it technically does not have an engine at all. That is where Dodge’s loony engineers come into play and have tried to engineer some extra character into the electric concept car.

Starting with the noise, normally that would be absent, but with the external amplifier and speakers that supposedly amplify the natural sound of the electric motors. If it truly amplifies the car’s natural sound, it would be more like a digital exhaust, as metal a.k.a. mechanical or traditional exhausts can amplify the engine’s natural noise.

However, if it is just a bunch of speakers playing a looped sound a music producer made on a laptop. One could argue that it tramples all the "authentic muscle car" aspects Dodge has pushed so hard.

We also have to consider how it will drive. A muscle car needs to be fun and a bit unruly. The Charger Daytona will have an all-wheel drive system, not that scary. It will also be the most powerful factory car Dodge has ever made, meaning at least 850 horsepower, although we expect a figure closer to 900-extremely unruly.

That paired with the "eRupt" transmission with proper gear ratios that mimic a conventional gearbox. Given that electric cars tend to only have one or two speeds, we could see a classic ’four-on-the-floor’ system. But Dodge hasn’t said how many speeds or if you will be able to change gears yourself.

All this seems unlikely, but so was the Challenger Demon, Widebody Hellcat, and Widebody Hellcat Redeye.

All the retro looks, and potentially BS "exhaust" noises are to appease the old Charger and Challenger’s niche but loyal customer base. The only issue being is that the customer base has produced some of the strongest rejectors of EVs.

Perhaps that would be different if the Charger Daytona SRT Concept was a hybrid. There will be a hybrid Ford Mustang after all that the future electric muscle car will not compete with. Speaking of which, Dodge could have gone another different route similar to Ford and made something to compete directly with the Mustang Mach-e.

In an interview with The Detroit News, Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said, "The challenge with hybrid technology is you bring along the cost of the engine, the transmission, the battery pack, the EMS...If I said to you as a customer, ‘Hey, I know this car is expensive, but I put two engines in it,’ the customer will say, ‘I don’t want to have two engines. Just give me one engine.’"

Again, back to pleasing that unique customer base that tends to lean on the side of ’all or nothing.’

This section is shorter as I’m nearing my word limit, but in short, Dodge is trying to pull out all the stops to 1, play damage control, so their old customer base does not hate them, and 2, to reel in as many new buyers as possible. That is part of why there will be a total of 9 power and trim levels - a move that will make at least some version of an electric muscle car for everyone.

As long as the production version of the Charger Daytona SRT Concept is outlandishly powerful and goes like the "Banshee" name implies, while also staying true to its authentic muscle car roots, it will do just fine. If anyone can pull off an electric muscle car, it’s Dodge.