New Electric Platform Is Coming to Make Hellcats Look Slow
New Stellantis large electric platform is coming to Dodge and Jeep, promising 500 miles of range and internal combustion compatibility.
It’s no secret that car enthusiasts are divided on the acceptance of electric vehicles. Barring all political talking points, it is undeniable that the performance of electric vehicles is downright invigorating. Don’t get us wrong, we still want to hear screaming supercharged Hemis for as long as we possibly can. However, the newly announced Stellanis electric platform is a clever bit of modular engineering that covers a lot of bases. One of them is internal combustion, so don’t freak out.
Stellantis (Dodge’s parent company, for those unaware) announced the STLA Large electric platform with some pretty hefty promises. This full battery-electric chassis will be the basis of cars, crossovers, and SUVs. Though its primary basis is electric, Stellantis says that hybrid and internal combustion variants will also leave factories in both Europe and North America. Let’s take a look at its specs.
Faster Than a Hellcat
Stellantis says that the zero to 60 MPH range for vehicles on this platform will be in the two-second range. That beats out even the Hellcat Redeye models and puts it within spitting distance of the Demon’s 1.66-second on-track acceleration. We can’t convince anyone to like electric cars, but we don’t think it takes much convincing to get a car enthusiast to enjoy that type of performance and acceleration.
“Our goals for our STLA platforms are ambitious but this is what our customers need from us today. Creating a family of vehicles from a well-engineered set of components that is flexible enough to cover multiple vehicle types and propulsions, overperforming any of our current products, will address each of our iconic brands’ customers. The flexibility and agility of this platform is its hallmark and will be a driving force for our success in the shift to electrification in North America,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
Stellantis says that Dodge and Jeep will be the first brands to use the STLA Large on customer-delivered cars. However, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, and Maserati will follow suit shortly thereafter. The intent is to create an array of vehicles from this platform that span the likes of luxury to “highly capable off-road 4×4.” Of course, high-performance cars are on the radar, too.
We’re Not Done With Internal Combustion Engines Just Yet
Unfortunately, there aren’t many details on using this platform in combination with an internal combustion engine. All we know at the time of writing is that Stellantis intends to use it for this purpose. The image included seems to show the batteries remaining in place with an engine, transmission, driveshaft, and rear differential in a standard FR layout sitting atop the electric drivetrain. Perhaps this platform will fulfill a previous claim of 1,000 horsepower hybrid muscle cars.
The press release outlines that this platform brings up to 500 miles of range on a full charge with battery capacity up to 118 kWh. It’s also capable of charging quite quickly at 4.5 kWh per minute. Overall, while we can’t say for sure what the future holds with this platform, we can say that we’ve got no issues with the level of performance Stellantis is saying is on the way!
Photos: Stellantis
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