Dodge revives Super Bee with 447kW turbo Charger, debuts eBoost anti-lag tech

Dodge is dusting off one of muscle car history's most storied badges to mark six decades of the Charger. The 2027 Super Bee Launch Edition arrives as the most potent incarnation of the nameplate since it first appeared in 1968—a 447-kilowatt twin-turbo six-cylinder that achieves the 0-97 kilometre-per-hour sprint in 3.6 seconds and covers the quarter mile in 11.8 seconds. Those numbers eclipse the 527-kilowatt supercharged Hellcat V8 from 2015, a car that held the acceleration crown for a decade. They also dwarf the 362-kilowatt HEMI-powered Super Bee that closed out the previous generation as a final special edition.

The engine is an uprated version of the twin-turbo 3.0-litre SIXPACK inline six, now producing 720 newton-metres of torque and yielding 200 horsepower per litre—a power density Dodge claims is unmatched in the muscle car world. The gains come from larger 56-millimetre Garrett turbochargers spinning at more than 2.0 bar of boost, forcing 7.5 percent more air through the engine than the standard Charger Scat Pack. Peak torque arrives nearly 12 percent earlier in the rev range, at 3,000 rpm, and sustains through to 5,900 rpm. A custom engine calibration sharpens throttle response and boost delivery, while revised turbo and exhaust tuning rewrites the car's acoustic signature with more pronounced overrun on deceleration.

Dodge has rebuilt the car around this new power. Rear half-shafts are nearly 10 percent stronger to withstand repeated hard launches. A system called Torque Reserve, inherited in concept from the old supercharged models, builds boost against the brake before launch by opening the throttle and retarding ignition, sending high-energy exhaust to the turbos so full torque is available the instant the brake releases. Cooling capacity in the high-temperature circuit grows by more than 50 percent, while the low-temperature circuit more than doubles, aided by auxiliary radiators tucked into the outboard corners of a new high-flow front fascia. That fascia lifts airflow to the main cooling stack by 30 percent and generates more than 45 kilograms of downforce at 240 kilometres per hour. A front splitter one-third longer than the Scat Pack's and a larger rear spoiler complete the aerodynamic package.

The braking system has been upgraded for the first time on a SIXPACK Charger to 406-millimetre Brembo vented rotors at all four corners, clamped by six-piston front and four-piston rear fixed calipers. The pad area is 27 percent larger, delivering three times the fade resistance of any other SIXPACK Charger and double that of the previous-generation SRT models. Forged 20-by-11-inch wheels carry Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3 rubber developed specifically for this car. New dual-valve adaptive dampers sample and adjust suspension every 10 milliseconds. Front spring rates rise 12 percent, rears 6 percent, the rear stabiliser bar stiffens by 20 percent, and front handling-link bushings firm up by 50 percent to reduce understeer.

The Super Bee introduces Track and Drag modes to the SIXPACK Charger for the first time. Track Mode delivers full-firm damping, tighter steering, elevated shift points and dedicated stability tuning. Drag Mode softens front rebound and stiffens rear compression to maximise weight transfer off the line. All-wheel drive is standard, but a button on the performance steering wheel switches the car to rear drive at any speed, on the fly, for what Dodge describes as drifting and old-school muscle car fun. A Race Prep function keeps the cooling fan running after shutdown to purge heat between runs. The Cosworth-developed Drive Experience Recorder makes its SIXPACK debut, combining 1080p video, audio and telemetry for post-session analysis.

Launch Edition cars arrive in three colours: a new yellow-green called Sucker Punch, Diamond Black, and a grey called Shady. All wear gloss-black stinger bodyside graphics and a redesigned Super Bee logo based on a spooling turbocharger. Inside, cloth high-back performance seats appear on the modern Charger for the first time, with embroidered Super Bee headrests and Sour Lemon contrast stitching.

One day before the Super Bee reveal, Stellantis' revived SRT performance division announced a powertrain concept called eBoost Air. It pairs an electrically driven compressor with the same 3.0-litre engine, spooling the turbochargers from idle before exhaust energy takes over higher in the rev range. SRT says the system virtually eliminates turbo lag, delivering big-turbo peak power with the immediate response of a supercharged V8. The concept has precedent: Audi launched a similar system a decade ago in the SQ7 TDI, the first production car with an electrically powered compressor. Mercedes-AMG has since put electric exhaust-gas turbochargers into series production on its four-cylinder hybrids. SRT's system differs in packaging—the eBoost Air unit sits upstream of the turbochargers with an electronically controlled bypass, pre-spooling the turbos before handing back to the normal induction path.

Dodge has been absent from New Zealand for some time, and the Super Bee, a limited-run model built at Windsor Assembly in Ontario, will only reach local roads through the grey market, if at all. Europe tells a different story. Dodge confirmed earlier this year that the new Charger will be sold officially in Europe through importer KW Automotive, with a multi-energy lineup spanning the 313-kilowatt petrol R/T through to the 500-kilowatt electric Daytona Scat Pack. Orders opened in June from €66,000, with first deliveries expected from September. Whether the Super Bee joins the European range remains unconfirmed. Pricing, ordering and production numbers for the Super Bee will be announced later this year.