- Dodge will unveil its final “Last Call” special edition in Las Vegas on March 20.
- In anticipation, we speculate about what it could be: How about something with 1000 hp?
- For those who forget, the “Last Call” editions were sent down to the outgoing gas-guzzling Charger and Challenger.
It’s no secret that Dodge has one final “Last Call” car on the way — the company has been teasing it since the seven-part series began with the Shakedown Challenger last August. Well, buckle up because Dodge will finally unveil the eagerly anticipated machine in Las Vegas on March 20th.
Elephant? Hell yeah!
Since twiddling our thumbs is boring, we decided to dust off our usually dormant thinking caps to brainstorm what to possibly expect from the final “Last Call” car. Dodge won’t spoil the surprise by confirming whether the final one will be based on the Charger or the Challenger (or perhaps both), but the evidence suggests the latter is more likely.
Mopar Hellephant 426 Supercharged Crate Hemi Engine.
We project what goodies the final “Last Call” Dodge has in store, and we see one of two eventualities playing out. One we think (and hope) could happen is a Charger or Challenger packing the 1000 horsepower leviathan that is the Hellephant crate engine. Of course, it can be difficult to achieve the reliability standards required for a production product, even for a limited term product.
Flex Fuel in its future?
The other potential power source involves E85 flex fuel and more than 909 horsepower. Road & Lane speculated since July that Dodge plans to give a Challenger a V-8 with as much horsepower using E85. It might also better explain why Dodge had to delay the car for so long.
It was originally supposed to show the final “Last Call” model in October at SEMA 2022. Dodge eventually scrapped that plan after seven engines exploded during durability tests. “So far we’ve shelled seven engines,” Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis told reporters, as quoted by R&T, during a background event leading up to SEMA.
The Dodge Charger King Daytona and Black Ghost Challenger “Last Call” models both have performance boosts. Each boosts power to a Jailbreak-matching 807 horsepower. The pairing is based on the widebody Charger and Challenger’s 797-hp Hellcat Redeye models, with an additional 10 ponies added to the mix.
The other four of the previously announced special editions are essentially just visual packages sold in limited quantities, but Dodge promises that the last one will be something special.
A new Demon Crate?
Kuniskis explained that it’s easy to produce more power with the Hemi setup, hence the King Daytona and Black Ghost each gaining 10 horsepower. However, increasing power by too much brings problems.
“When you take a Hellcat and you want to add more horsepower in street trim, you know for a daily driver or a car you take to the track, you know street and strip, or frankly even for Direct Connection, it’s very, very easy to do. Unfortunately, when I sell it as a commemorative edition, I have to put it through the final production service cycles,” Kuniskis said.
Delays aside, it would be great to see Dodge offer more than just a power boost. Something similar to the $1 Demon Crate of 2018 with its hydraulic floor jack, impact wrench, torque wrench, tire pressure gauge, fender cover, and matching skinny front wheels designed for the drag strip.
Another car capable of driving wheels is a reasonable question in 2023, right? Either that or something with between 909 and 1000 horsepower will satisfy us.
