Design Student Catches Dodge’s Chief Design Officer’s Eye With Stunning Muscle Car Concept

When Ralph Gilles tips his hat to a student’s design concept, you know it’s going to be good. Gilles used to be the CEO of the SRT brand, is currently the Chief Design Officer for Stellantis, and well known for his love of Dodge muscle cars. Recently, he shared the senior thesis of John Carioti, a student at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. And, it’s a stunning design concept that deserves the exposure Gilles has given it, saying, “Once again @ccs_detroit Seniors are Fire!” And with the failure of the all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona (sales volumes have been less than ideal, forcing Dodge to offer crazy incentives and cut the cheapest version out of the product plan), it may be a good idea for Gilles to harvest some of the College for Creative Studies’ current talent.

Not Playing It Safe

Called the [DODGE] project, it’s an exquisitely aggressive and forward-looking take on something that could go up against the Ford Mustang GTD. While the Charger Daytona played it safe as a move forward for the incredibly familiar Challenger’s style, Carioti leans into both retro styling and futurism with the massive chin spoiler, outstanding rear fenders and door shape, while still keeping it identifiable as a Challenger or Charger. Even somewhat toned down for production, it would bring a truly fresh and aggressive look to Dodge.

Digging deeper, the LED lighting adds a subtle drama to the design. The word subtle here is relative, as the bodywork and wheel design are so strong. For a production car, the roofline would likely have to be raised or the beltline lowered, as it looks like it would be worse for visibility than a Chevrolet Camaro. However, it is purely a design exercise that ignores the idea of a rear window to allow for a longer deck and built-in spoiler. The angle of the back of the concept is a supercar-level touch, which itself harks back to 1960s race cars.

The concept is noted as being all-electric, but the reality is that it would need to be V8-powered to bring back the muscle car crowd. At some point, Stellantis appears to have forgotten that the Dodge Challenger became so beloved and sold so well for so long because it was a throwback, not in spite of it. With all the golden-hearted and best will in the world, the time is not right for electric muscle cars.

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Dodge Needs To Up Its Design Game

Unlike the Charger Daytona, Carioti’s study is futuristic while keeping the DNA of the Challenger and Charger. This could well be a look at what the future of muscle cars looks like when gas power finally dwindles and electric drive becomes the norm. An electric powertrain in a skateboard configuration removes so many constraints on styling as it doesn’t need to make room for an engine, transmission, and a gas tank. We can’t help but think Stellantis should have leaned into that a bit more rather than rounding off the Charger’s edges, losing the rear doors, having a bit of fun with the front end, and calling it good.