2028 Dodge Hellcat Charger Confirmed By Supplier Document
The Hellcat’s return to the Dodge Charger just stopped being a rumor and became a supply-chain fact. An internal Stellantis planning document reviewed by Automotive News lays out the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8’s comeback for “end of 2027 for the 2028 model year,” with Dodge telling suppliers to prepare for 12,000 units a year. That’s not an exec hinting at a possibility on a stage somewhere. That’s tooling, parts sourcing, and production scheduling already in motion.
Dodge‘s response is the standard non-answer: the automaker won’t comment on future product plans, and one report even got the line that the information is “purely speculation/rumor.” Fine. But a supplier planning document isn’t a dealer whisper or a spy shot. Suppliers build parts off these things. When Dodge tells its supply base to gear up for 12,000 Hellcat Chargers a year, that’s a number somebody is already working toward.
Kuniskis Is Back, And So Is The Hemi
None of this happens without Tim Kuniskis. When Carlos Tavares resigned as Stellantis CEO in December 2024, Kuniskis came out of retirement to run Ram, and he didn’t waste time undoing Tavares’ cost-cutting. The 5.7-liter Hemi went back into the Ram 1500 by summer 2025. Then the Hellcat-powered Ram TRX came roaring back with 777 hp, a 75-hp bump over the old truck. Then came the Rumble Bee line, a trio of V8-powered street trucks running the 5.7, the 6.4-liter “Apache,” and the supercharged 6.2, with the Hellcat version slated for the first half of 2027.
Kuniskis has since been promoted to lead all of Stellantis’ North American brands, along with regional marketing and retail strategy. Every V8 resurrection on this list happened on his watch. The Charger was the one conspicuous gap, and it’s the one he’s been circling for a while. Back in January, he said flatly that bringing a base Hemi to the Charger wouldn’t make sense anymore, because the 550-hp inline-six would simply outgun it. The only number that justifies charging extra for a V8, in his words, is Hellcat territory.
What The Document Actually Says
The planning details go further than the timeline. The Hellcat shows up under engine code ESD, the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi SRT mill, paired with a ZF 8HP95 eight-speed automatic, according to a document reviewed by MoparInsiders. That transmission has historically lived in all-wheel-drive, high-output Stellantis products like the Durango SRT Hellcat, the Ram TRX, and the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. The document reportedly lists the new V8 Charger as rear-wheel drive instead, a break from the current Hurricane six-cylinder car’s AWD-only setup.
The engine is planned for both the two-door and four-door Charger body styles, labeled LB29 and LB49 respectively, though it’s not clear whether both arrive on dealer lots at the same time. No final horsepower figure is locked in. The old naturally-blown 6.2 made 717 hp in the last-generation Hellcat Charger, and the current Ram TRX Hellcat makes 777. Where Dodge lands the new engine’s output is still an open question, but there’s a wide window between the Super Bee’s 600-hp Hurricane and whatever number SRT settles on for the range-topper.
The Engine Bay Question Dodge Won’t Quite Answer
Whether the supercharged 6.2 physically fits in a bay engineered around the Hurricane six has been the real sticking point since the new Charger launched without a V8 option. Dodge CEO Matt McAlear got close to confirming it earlier this year at the Charger Six Pack reveal. Asked whether the Hellcat would theoretically fit, he said: “Theoretically, I’ll let you come up here and take a look and get your tape measure out… but don’t be surprised if it would fit.” That’s about as close to a yes as a CEO gets without saying it.
The new Charger lineup currently tops out with the Super Bee’s 600-hp Hurricane inline-six, a strong number on its own, but not the number that makes Hellcat faithful forgive the V8’s absence. A 12,000-unit annual run gives Dodge real volume to work with, and after watching Ram‘s Hemi comeback drive a 41% sales jump this year, it’s not hard to see why Kuniskis wants the same formula at Charger. The paper trail says it’s coming. Now it’s just a matter of how many horsepower Dodge puts on the window sticker.
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