The upcoming Dodge electric muscle car will make (too much?) noise

Almost identical to a muscle car with a big V8, the sound system of the future electric Dodge Charger Daytona SRT cranks up the volume to 126 dB!

Dodge aims to convert sports car fans to electric. The American brand revealed in 2022 the Charger Daytona SRT concept. While the exterior looks little different from the current Charger, the loud V8 has well disappeared under the hood in favor of a 100% electric drive. 

But customers love noise. On electric cars, silence provides a sense of serenity in daily life. Yet for the car enthusiast, not hearing the engine scream when pressing the pedal is blasphemous. At best, you can hear a whistling from the motor(s). But that’s not enough, even if the car delivers astonishing performance like Tesla Model S Plaid or the Rimac Nevera supercar.

126 dB, like a Takeoff Plane!

The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT thus incorporates a sound that mimics the original V8 Hemi. The manufacturer even named it: Fratzonic! Even here, at the presentation, fans found the system too timid. “Too electric” and not “authentic” enough according to the muscle-car enthusiast community.

The brand has reworked the exterior sound system, now pushing it up to 126 dB at maximum! That’s as loud as the Hellcat gasoline version. But it’s clearly too much. Imagine, we’re almost at the level of a plane taking off (at 100 meters away), a gunshot, or on an F1 circuit. Of course, this sound intensity is not continuous, to avoid bursting the eardrums of bystanders. But it’s loud enough to become unbearable.

And even when stationary, when an electric car emits no sound, the electric sports car can sound like it has a big 707 hp V8 engine roaring. Fortunately, the Fratzonic system is not mandatory but an optional feature that the driver can activate or deactivate at will.

The Dodge Charger SRT Daytona SRT could further modify its sound by 2024, the scheduled North American launch date.

Synthetic Noise, a New Trend?

While Renault has given its electric cars a unique sound signature, other brands want to keep the combustion car legacy through sound. For example, the Mazda MX-30 emits a sporty car sound, proportional to acceleration, but only inside the cabin. The Ford Mustang Mach-E is also experimenting with this, but Porsche is reportedly working on an electric-style exhaust system. Less inclined to switch to electric, luxury manufacturers like Ferrari and Lamborghini are expected to offer a similar system to Dodge Charger Daytona SRT for their future models.

Also read: Lexus Electrified Sport, an electric with a manual gearbox!