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Tim Kuniskis, the Father of Hellcats, is back, and he’s just winding up. On Thursday, as Stellantis presented its turnaround plans, Kuniskis, who serves as head of the American brands (along with SRT) and CEO of Ram, had a one-more-thing moment for journalists: the Dodge Copperhead SRT. It’s being hailed as a “hyper muscle car” to fill a “white space,” according to Kuniskis.
This is the unknown Charger-looking cloaked SRT car from earlier today that was part of Dodge’s future lineup. The question’s been answered.
Kuniskis joked that the paint wasn’t even dry on what looked like a 3D-printed buck and kindly asked that we didn’t touch the car. Clearly based on the Charger, the Copperhead features a shark nose front end, a wing so huge that it wouldn’t be out of place on a Viper ACR, a massive front splitter, vents on the front fenders, and a ducktail spoiler. Two large oval exhaust tips sat fat lower and centered in the rear. The taillights are horizontal and sit angled into the rear as if pinched. The rear glass have vents on both sides similar to the C8 Corvette, but this isn’t a mid-engine car.
The mirrors are Viper-esque and circular. The door lines, roof line, and curved sides all angle up to the rear haunches very much in the same way as the Copperhead concept from the 1997 Detroit auto show.
Dodge Copperhead concept from 1997
Imagine the 1997 Copperhead concept stance and door line with a Viper-esque rear end and the Charger design team saying “you’re allowed to be completely unhinged.” That’s the picture to paint in your mind as to what the new Copperhead looks like.
What’s under the hood will be anyone’s guess. But exhaust tips indicate it’ll make the bang bang noises and tiny explosions. A hood scoop sucks in air and vents on both sides of that intake will let heat out of the engine bay. A front aero wing, like on the electric Charger, exists, which is notable and interesting given this is a gas-powered car, it seems.
There’s no word when Copperhead will arrive or what it will cost, but everything laid out in today’s turnaround plan is said to arrive by 2030. This seems like a cake copper.
Kuniskis did say, sometimes you don’t ask what the price is, you don’t ask what the fuel economy is. That seems to be the goal with the Copperhead. Dodge has a halo vehicle coming, and it’s not going to wear a Viper badge.
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As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media. He’s also a World Car Award juror.
