2026 Dodge Charger SIXPACK Scat Pack Review: 550 HP Twin-Turbo Fury Proves the Muscle Car Isn’t Dead

Dodge tried going all-electric with the Charger Daytona, and enthusiasts made their disappointment clear. For 2026, the brand is walking part of it back — dropping the Hemi V8 but also the electric-only approach, in favor of a 3.0L twin-turbo inline-six making up to 550 horsepower under a legendary name pulled straight from 1970s Mopar history: SIXPACK. At around $55,000 for the Scat Pack trim, this is Dodge’s answer to enthusiast backlash. Watch to see whether it actually delivers.

Dodge tried going all-electric with the Charger, and enthusiasts made it very clear they weren’t happy about it. So for 2026, Dodge is doing something almost unheard of in the current automotive climate — walking part of it back. Gone is the Hemi V8 that defined the Charger for decades, but gone too is the electric-only approach nobody asked for, replaced by something nobody quite expected: a twin-turbo inline-six wearing a name pulled straight from the 1970s. Whether that’s a genuine comeback or just a well-marketed compromise is exactly what this review sets out to answer.

The Charger Daytona’s Rocky Electric-Only Start

When Dodge launched the Charger Daytona as an electric-only model, the reception from the brand’s traditional muscle car buyers was, by most accounts, not warm — enthusiasts who’d spent decades associating the Charger name with a HEMI V8 rumble weren’t interested in a soulless electric drivetrain no matter how quick it was in a straight line. That backlash matters context-wise, because it’s exactly what shaped Dodge’s decision for 2026: rather than doubling down on the electric-only approach, the brand pivoted toward a gas-powered option that could win back buyers who’d written the Charger off entirely.

⚑ Featured Gear

Start Car Conversations →

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reviving the SIXPACK Name From the 1970s

The Six Pack name dates back to the muscle car era itself, originally referring to Mopar’s triple two-barrel carburetor setup used on high-performance versions of the Dodge Super Bee and Charger in 1969 and 1970, with Plymouth badging its own version Six Barrel on the Road Runner and Barracuda — a genuinely aggressive factory performance option that’s become legendary among Mopar collectors. Reviving that name for 2026’s turbocharged inline-six Charger is a deliberate callback, borrowing decades of built-in credibility from an era Dodge knows its core buyers still romanticize, even though the underlying technology couldn’t be more different from the original carbureted setup the name first described.

The New Engine: A 3.0L Twin-Turbo Inline-Six

In place of the Hemi V8, the 2026 Charger SIXPACK Scat Pack runs a 3.0-liter DOHC twin-turbo inline-six producing up to 550 horsepower — a genuinely different engine architecture than anything the Charger nameplate has carried before, but one that delivers a peak output figure competitive with, or exceeding, several of the Hemi-powered trims it replaces. Trading eight cylinders and no turbos for six cylinders and two turbos is a significant philosophical shift for a nameplate built on big-displacement V8 identity, and it’s the single biggest talking point of this entire review.

Pricing Around $55,000 for the Scat Pack Trim

At roughly $55,000 for the Scat Pack trim, this new Charger sits in a pricing bracket that puts it in direct competition with a wide range of performance coupes and sedans, gas and electric alike. That price point matters for context because it positions the SIXPACK not as a budget option but as a genuine performance flagship trim, expected to deliver both the power numbers and the driving experience that buyers spending that kind of money on a Dodge would demand.

How Big Does This Charger Actually Look?

Viewer reaction has zeroed in on the car’s sheer physical presence, with one comment specifically noting that even 20-inch wheels look proportionally small on this body — a detail that speaks to just how much the current-generation Charger has grown compared to its predecessors. That kind of visual mass matters to muscle car buyers who want a car that looks imposing sitting still, not just fast moving, and it’s a trait the new SIXPACK carries over from the design language established by the broader current Charger redesign.

Twin-Turbo I-6 vs. the Hemi Legacy

For buyers who grew up associating the Charger with a HEMI V8’s specific exhaust note and power delivery, a twin-turbo inline-six is a genuinely different animal — turbocharged power tends to arrive with a surge once boost builds rather than the more linear pull of a big naturally aspirated V8, and the exhaust character is inherently different without eight cylinders firing. Whether that tradeoff is worth it for the 550-horsepower ceiling and modern efficiency gains is exactly the kind of question this review has to grapple with directly, since it’s the single biggest departure from Charger tradition in the car’s history.

Why This Matters for the Future of Muscle Cars

Dodge’s decision to walk back an electric-only strategy in favor of a turbocharged gas engine, even a genuinely different one from what came before, sends a signal to the rest of the industry about how quickly enthusiast backlash can force a correction. Whether other manufacturers facing similar pressure around EV transitions in performance segments take note remains to be seen, but the SIXPACK’s existence is itself evidence that muscle car buyers still have real influence over what gets built, even in an era increasingly dominated by electrification mandates.

A Genuine Comeback or a Well-Marketed Compromise?

Whether the new Charger SIXPACK Scat Pack counts as a true return to form or simply a different kind of compromise dressed up in a nostalgic name is a fair question, and this review works through exactly that tension — big power numbers and a legendary name pulled from Mopar history, wrapped around an engine architecture the Charger has never worn before. Whatever the verdict, the fact that Dodge felt compelled to make this pivot at all says everything about how strongly enthusiasts pushed back against the electric-only version that came before it.

How This Compares to the Outgoing Hemi Scat Pack

The previous-generation Charger Scat Pack, powered by Dodge’s naturally aspirated 6.4-liter HEMI V8, made 485 horsepower — meaning this new twin-turbo inline-six SIXPACK actually exceeds that figure by a meaningful margin with its 550-horsepower ceiling, even while losing two cylinders and swapping displacement for boost. That direct comparison matters for skeptical buyers weighing whether the new architecture is a genuine improvement or simply a different way of getting to a similar place. On paper, at least, Dodge isn’t asking Scat Pack buyers to accept less performance in exchange for the powertrain change — it’s asking them to accept a different kind of powertrain delivering more.

The Real Test Is Still Ahead

None of that matters much to a buyer cross-shopping this Charger against rivals it’s never had to compete with before, from turbocharged sport sedans to electric muscle car alternatives entering the same price bracket. What the SIXPACK ultimately has to prove is that a legendary name and a genuinely strong horsepower number are enough to win back buyers who felt burned by the Daytona’s electric-only debut, and that verdict will play out on sales charts long after this review wraps.

Catch the full video above. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Republished by Blog Post Promoter