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Official Dodge Replacing Hellcat with 800 HP Hydrogen Powered Hydra
We can all agree that burning dinosaur juice is not good for our planet’s future, that’s why legislations are pushing manufacturers to develop more efficient electric motors and tighten the noose around the traditional ICE engines. The good news is that most car makers are complying with that and making great efforts to make the difficult shift.
But some of them simply can’t, some brands have built their entire reputation around huge and powerful combustion engines, and the noisy fuel thirsty monsters make a big part of the driving experience.
That’s the case of Dodge, the company that produced gems like the Challenger SRT, Hellcat and Demon. It has found it extremely difficult to abandon internal combustion engines and put timid electric motors in their place.
However, now it looks like they have found a way around it. According to an official announcement, dodge is planning on using an 800-horsepower hydrogen-combustion engine on a new muscle car, it’s called the SRT Hydra and it’s supposed to replace the Hellcat.
The future of muscle cars lay on the shoulders of the new hydra, that’s why Dodge gave it such a symbolic name, “The Hydra name is symbolic for us. While legislation may have cut the head off of our ICE-powered muscle cars, two more will grow back in its place. Muscle cars won't go down that easily." Said Ivan Tobrakfri, Director of Muscle Car Development at Dodge.
However, there is no escape from electrification on the long run. The diversification plans that dodge is planning must all be done in accordance with the electrification rules. All future family SUVs will be electric. That is a sacrifice that the brand is willing to make in order to save the muscle cars it’s most famous for.
Back to the hydrogen engine, it is basically an evolution of the brand’s supercharged 6.2-liter V8, modified to run smoothly on liquid hydrogen instead of regular gas, Dr. Mohammad Powababi, Advanced Powertrain Development Chief at Dodge, stated that they have managed to improve the power density of hydrogen in liquid form, and reduce the risk of knock through a series of tweaks that effected the cylinder heads, intake manifold, injectors, and several other components. The final result was impressive, a successful hydrogen V8 that can produce 800 horsepower.
Muscle car fans will have to wait until late 2023 to see dodge’s new Hydra, it has to undergo further rigorous testing as the technology in it is still rather new.
Dodge needs also to fight on a second front, the company’s officials need to convince lawmakers and gain the ultimate approval for the commercialization of their innovative hydrogen engine. A hard task seeing the general focus on electric energy.
The encouraging fact is that dodge is not alone on this, Ford and other European carmakers are working relentlessly on developing similar technologies, an interesting fact that makes hydrogen engines an ever more likely alternative to traditional ICEs.
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