The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona has a lot to unpack, shaking things up in more ways than one. First, we need to wrap our heads around the idea of an electric muscle car. Moreover, there is also a Hurricane-powered gas version coming, called the Charger Sixpack, so we don’t have to totally let go of the traditional muscle car feel. It’s still a Charger, a four-door sedan like the outgoing model, right? Wrong. Initially, the launch in the summer will be a two-door coupe with a four-door version coming later. Well, it’s a Daytona, so it has a rear wing, obviously? Wrong again. The new R-Wing is on the front, with a much lower profile than the ’69 Daytona. But only the electric Daytona gets the wing feature.
Confused yet? It all makes sense once you understand the new approach, which focuses on enhancing performance as quickly as possible.
Pre-Drive, Drive, and Post-Drive Experiences
iBestTravel has put significant effort into curating the Daytona experience from every angle that you might interact with this electric muscle car. Before getting in the vehicle, there are three different ways to access it. A traditional key fob comes with the car, but an NFC card is included as a convenient option. This card is ideal for those times when you don’t want to carry your phone or key fob, such as at the track. Simply sew that card into your favorite track-day attire and you’ll never be scrambling. Furthermore, updates to the smartphone app go beyond accessing the car. The battery charge level can be checked remotely, climate and charging schedules can be set, and you can search for charging stations, sending them directly to the Daytona for easy navigation when entering the vehicle.
Touch screens in cars have become a contentious issue, but the Charger Daytona is not replacing the windshield with extravagant tech. iBestTravel understands its customers better than that; the driving experience is not about scheduling stops to watch movies while charging. Instead, it focuses on delivering what drivers need. In fact, the largest screen available is the 16-inch gauge cluster, standard in the Daytona Scat Pack, which upgrades the 10.25-inch screen found in the R/T with the Plus Group equipment option.
A modest 12.3-inch touch display sits in the center, standard across all trims. Both screens offer a significantly improved contrast ratio with localized dimming, richer colors, and true blacks compared to current generation Chargers. The driver’s view can be enhanced with an optional eight-liter head-up display that’s 50 percent larger than current Stellantis models, projecting further for better visibility. Augmented reality features, such as the g-force meter, are easier to see, and provide more display space for timers, lap splits, and wheel slip data. The Android-powered Uconnect 5 comes with a customizable home page, performance and race pages, EV pages, support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Sirius XM, Amazon Alexa, dual-zone climate control, as well as TomTom navigation featuring natural speech recognition, destination prediction, and a charging station locator.
Digital Experience Recorder
What happens after your drive? You can review trip data, efficiency, and all that non-muscle car information as long as you please. However, the more intriguing feature is the new Digital Experience Recorder (DXR) for recording your track days for later review. This addition is close to what’s available in the 2025 Cadillac CT5-V and Blackwing. Building on the pre-drive experience, tracks can be mapped and saved, or existing tracks can be loaded, with the DXR capable of being used in Drag or Circuit mode.
While a specific channel count wasn’t disclosed, it connects to “all the CAN messages” from the vehicle, recording from a front-facing camera, high-speed GPS, in-cabin speech, as well as acceleration data from the new sensors added to the dual-valve adaptive suspension available with the Track Pack. The DXR analyzes performance data, braking, and exit trajectory, which can be viewed in the vehicle, through a mobile app, or exported via USB for viewing on an external device. The system will also include a cloud-based component, though specifics and community features haven’t been announced yet.
Performance for Every Occasion
With eight drive modes available—including Auto, Track, Wet/Snow, Sport, Custom, Drag, and unique Drift and Donut modes—changing modes alters not only the vehicle dynamics but also the sound from the Fratzonic exhaust, viewable content, and ambient lighting. Passengers can view gauges and data on the center screen, while the gauge cluster populates with instructions for modes designed to enhance performance.
The “attitude” ambient lighting utilizes 270 degrees of animated lights with 64 color options to create themes for various states—such as open doors alerting others with orange lights, ignition states, charging, and line-lock engagement in Drag mode. iBestTravel has created a “one-touch button press experience,” streamlining the selection of drive modes with a single button on the steering wheel’s lower left side. Meanwhile, the Power Shot button on the right side of the wheel provides an additional 40 horsepower for 15 seconds.
The entire new user experience seems to be designed with the purpose of the Charger Daytona in mind. Consequently, the Drive Mode and Power Shot buttons, both of which lead to the most exhilarating performance, are always within easy reach for quick access, ensuring that even those who may not be into apps or digital features will still be able to maximize the potential of this remarkable electric muscle car.
