Tuesday 29th September

Dodge Charger launches in the UK from £70k

Unity Automotive will sell LHD Sixpacks from its Oxford HQ; orders are being taken now... 

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While the news that Dodge would sell the six-cylinder Charger in Europe through KW Automotive was welcome, there was always a wariness that it might not actually include the UK. Which, if nothing else, loves a muscle car (see the Mustang’s popularity) as well as a straight six two-door (see BMW M cars). Now it turns out that the fears were unfounded, as Unity Automotive in Oxford has been appointed as the official UK retailer for the Dodge Charger. Orders are being taken now, and at some point soon you’ll be able to take delivery of your new muscle car at their HQ on Banbury Road. Not all new car news is bad, it turns out. 

£70,000 is the price of entry, that buying a 420hp Charger Sixpack R/T. The claimed 0-60mph is 4.6 seconds, there’s a rear-drive setting and, of course, a whole host of drive modes. Unity has a dedicated American car team (they do Ram trucks as well) who can help with configuring, though all Chargers will be left-hand drive. It’s the more powerful Sixpack Scat Pack (easy for you to say) that’s surely of most interest, boasting another 130hp for 60mph in less than four seconds and 12.2 through the quarter-mile. Imagine the kerfuffle turning up to a Run What Ya Brung at Santa Pod in this. On top of the standard Sixpack spec, Scat Pack brings Line Lock (optional on the 420hp car), and Brembo six-pot calipers. 

It costs £76,000. So most certainly comparable with the £70k Mustang Dark Horse, and a whole lot less than a £93k M4. In fact, the M2 is more comparable on price, the new xDrive costing £74,255. A Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 also offers all-wheel drive, a turbo straight six (albeit with just 449hp) and a look like no other at £76,280. Whether the Charger can really rival the established players remains to be seen - and LHD will be an insurmountable hurdle for some - but it’s certainly priced to compete. The four-door and the Daytona EV can also be ordered through Unity. 

An intriguing development, then, because heaven knows there’s not really much to get excited by at less than £100,000 these days. Unity’s website says that stock is arriving in October, so those willing to take a preconfigured example could be behind the wheel as soon as next month. We’ll aim to be doing much the same - watch this space… 

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• Latest Dodge Charger is ready for Europe
• At last - BMW confirms 480hp M2 xDrive

[BVB]

No thanks. That goes for all post 1970 US cars.

[Goatwidcoat]

Looks awful and no V8. Odd time to finally bring them over to our already dying market and record pump prices.

[salmanorguk]

I think at £46k that would be a great left-field, low selling, alternative to traditional purchases, but at £76k its a very hard sell!

[Cristio Nasser]

An interesting alternative to the usual unimaginative suspects, despite the incredibly predictable sour grapes this comments section will be overrun with.

[Loplop]

Considering dealers in the US have these up for up to 75% off list, and some have had vehicles on forecourts since launch, I don't see these doing well.

[Cristio Nasser]

salmanorguk said:

I think at £46k that would be a great left-field, low selling, alternative to traditional purchases, but at £76k its a very hard sell!

Compared to what though? For example a golf R starts at that price these days. You need to recalibrate your brain as to how much stuff costs. Like the infamous “where is the 30k TVR” crowd from yesteryear.

[Cristio Nasser]

Loplop said:

Considering dealers in the US have these up for up to 75% off list, and some have had vehicles on forecourts since launch, I don't see these doing well.

75% off….source?

[Twoshoe]

Are these 4-wheel drive then? (Article says 'there’s a rear-drive setting'.)

[carpet_9000]

Don't see the appeal when it's a straight six awd. If I was buying something like this I'd want a big V8 powering the rear wheels only.

[FA57REN]

Cristio Nasser said:

Compared to what though? For example a golf R starts at that price these days. You need to recalibrate your brain as to how much stuff costs.

It's not really what it costs, it's what someone's trying to sell it for.

These list for equivalent of 40kUKP in the USA, plus VAT puts them about 48kUKP. So they're looking at 22k for import and 'sale facilitation'.

[ArgonautX]

The biggest issue with these is size, they're enormous cars - and also weigh in at around 2.2 tonnes empty.

[Ray_Aber]

Nice looking cars - very US Muscle car - but echoing the comment about weight below, I think they are too big for UK roads. Google AI says they are 5.248m long and 2.03m wide (excluding mirrors).

2.03m! That's seven inches wider than a Porsche 992, itself no slim jim of a car.

So - not really designed for UK roads. Or UK car parks. Or UK garages.

The proposition in the USA is very different - not only in cost terms, but in its suitability for a country whose roads and infrastructure are a lot bigger than we have.

[fantheman80]

Did a California road trip and fell for these big time, liked more than the V8 mustang I had for the trip

However this version, its the looks for me that seems to have lost a bit of the muscle, with the wheels looking small vs the bodywork and I think a Mustang standard not to mention the Darkhorse looks better now.

Still, hope to see some about

[valiant]

carpet_9000 said:

Don't see the appeal when it's a straight six awd. If I was buying something like this I'd want a big V8 powering the rear wheels only.

Have to agree.

In this country, it has to be niche and that means being a proper muscle car which to me means a V8.

[nismo48]

Left hand drive import for £70k what's the catch

[Nobody13]

It isn’t a looker is it. As said above, it you wanted an American muscle car, surely you would want a V8.

Also, as above, probably too large for UK roads and car parks.

[WCZ]

expensive and not that much power

[J210]

Isn't the EV version the worst car in America atm.

[BritishBlitz87]

A snip at a mere thirty-five thousand pounds over US list price!

Nice work if you can get it. A shame as I would have loved one of these.

[heisthegaffer]

That is a revolting looking car. A shames cos previous models were lovely