Performance Wagons Are Hotter Than Ever: Could Dodge Revive the Magnum R/T to Capitalize?

Miami Herald

07-05-2025

Business Performance Wagons Are Hotter Than Ever: Could Dodge Revive the Magnum R/T to Capitalize?
Performance station wagons are back with a vengeance
Performance station wagons certainly aren't anything new, even for American automakers. As far back as the 1960s, domestic brands were offering up hot wagons like the Pontiac Tempest Safari Wagon and the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser 442, which paired powerful, large-displacement V8 engines plucked straight from the hottest muscle cars with spacious station wagons that could fit your whole family and all their belongings with ease. In the '90s, some European automakers took their own approach to developing family station wagons with mouthwatering performance capabilities, such as the turbocharged five-cylinder-powered Audi RS2 Avant and BMW's potent V8-powered E39 540i Touring.
Then, in the early 2010s, the world reached peak performance station wagon status, with a slew of offerings from both European and American automakers that permanently cemented the greatness of the performance wagon for eternity evermore. Audi created the absolutely mental C6 RS6 Avant, which was an all-wheel drive family station wagon powered by a twin-turbocharged, 572-horsepower 5.0-liter V10. That's right, Audi's sporty station wagon had 47 more horsepower than the V10-powered R8 of the same vintage. Around the same time, BMW released the first-ever M5 Touring, which also used a 5.0-liter V10, albeit without turbocharging and all-wheel drive, making it a true driver-oriented sports car with seating for 5 and enough cargo space for a few cats and dogs.
2014 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon Cadillac
Cadillac
Unfortunately for us on this side of the pond, those two V10-powered super wagons were never offered stateside. What we did get, however, was a trio of growly, V8-powered muscle wagons that not only proved wagons didn't belong only in your grandmother's driveway, they also proved that American brands were becoming genuinely competitive with the European heavyweights. Around the same time that Mercedes-Benz was selling the 518-horsepower, 6.2-liter V8-powered E63 AMG Estate in the early 2010s, Cadillac unveiled its supercharged, 556-horsepower 6.2-liter V8-powered CTS-V Sport Wagon, which could even be optioned with a six-speed manual transmission. The CTS-V wowed the enthusiast crowd worldwide, even receiving a nod on Top Gear, which had been extremely critical of American performance cars up until that point. Although the CTS-V's success was a huge moment for American auto manufacturers, it overshadowed another respectable performance wagon that has since faded from the memories of most people–the Dodge Magnum.
The Dodge Magnum offered old-school performance for the modern era
The Magnum isn't remembered very often these days, but those who do recall Dodge's late-2000s station wagon remember it fondly. What was essentially a Dodge Charger with a unique face and a long roof, the Magnum could be had with a slew of V6 and V8 engines, but the most notable of them all was the 6.1-litre Hemi V8-powered Magnum SRT8, which sent 425 horses to the rear wheels, could do 0-60 mph in just 5.1 seconds, and ran a 13.6-second quarter mile time straight out of the box.
Despite the Magnum's sporting prowess and superior functionality as a daily driver, its four-door sedan counterparts–the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300–vastly outsold the wagon, which was eventually discontinued after the 2008 model year. Plain and simple, sedans were more popular, and those wanting a macho V8-powered muscle car refused to show up to car shows in something that, stylistically, looked like it belonged in the high school drop-off line more than it did at the starting line of a drag strip.
2006 Dodge Magnum SRT8 Stellantis
Stellantis
Fast forward to 2025, and things are beginning to turn around for the station wagon. No longer seen as "grandma's grocery-getter," the station wagon has become a bastion for practical performance. Why settle for a four-door sedan when you could have extra cargo space and drive something that looks truly unique from the vast ocean of sedans and crossovers that plague the streets of America with dullness? As Car & Driver recently reported, "BMW M5 Touring Orders Make Up Half of Current M5 Production." The popularity of the BMW M5 Touring came as a surprise even to BMW, which, according to Fred Smith at Car & Driver, was "initially planning to build the cars at a 2-to-1 sedan-to-wagon ratio." The M5 Touring builds upon the success of BMW's M3 Touring, which has also proven that the performance sedan tide is shifting towards station wagon counterparts, which offer the same performance capabilities as four-door sedans, albeit with superior daily driver functionality. Although the Magnum wasn't as much of a success as Dodge had hoped in the late 2000s, perhaps now is the right time for the brand to experiment with a new one.
Using generative text-to-image artificial intelligence and Adobe Photoshop over official Dodge press images, we take an imagined look at what a hypothetical Dodge Magnum revival could look like, incorporating current Dodge Charger design elements and styling cues. These images are for speculation purposes only and in no way depict any actual Stellantis or Dodge products.
The new Dodge Charger desperately needs help
As our very own Elijah Nicholson-Messmer recently reported, Dodge's EV gamble has fallen flat, and "In Q1 2025, Dodge sold more discontinued Chargers and Challengers than its new electric Charger Daytona." As a result, the Stellantis-owned brand has been desperately reworking the Charger to accommodate combustion-powered engines, and a Hemi V8 Charger is reportedly in the works. It seems evident that would-be buyers of a two-door muscle car aren't so keen on battery power, especially when it's replacing the old-school V8 muscle charm that made the Charger so captivating in the first place. Perhaps a revived Dodge Magnum could make better use of the Charger's electric powertrain and combustion-powered alternatives, such as Dodge's new Hurricane straight-six engines and loud and powerful Hemi V8s.
Dodge Magnum R/T Concept AI Generated Image / Stellantis
AI Generated Image / Stellantis
Right off the bat, a fully-electric Dodge Magnum could employ the Charger Daytona EV Scat Pack's 100.5 kWh battery, which produces 670 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, to chase after the Chevrolet Blazer EV SS, which uses a 102 kWh battery to produce 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. As a less expensive alternative, Dodge could also fit the revived Magnum with its 550-horsepower turbocharged 3.0-liter Hurricane straight-six, but we can't help but imagine a spiritual successor to the beloved Magnum SRT8. Powered by none other than a supercharged 6.2-liter V8, a new Magnum SRT8 would get a power figure lingering around the 800 mark, which might give the BMW M5 Touring, the Audi RS6 Avant, and the Mercedes-AMG E53 Hybrid Estate a serious run for their money at the drag strip.
Dodge Charger Daytona EVs sit in the lot at the Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Getty Images
Getty Images
Final thoughts
Regardless of how well a station wagon variant of the new Dodge Charger Daytona would realistically sell, Dodge is at a point where the brand needs to take some serious risks to keep itself relevant. Currently, Dodge's entire model range has been whittled down to just three models–the Charger, the Hornet, and the Durango. Despite how fresh the Charger and Hornet are, the Durango remains the brand's best-selling model, even though its current generation began in 2010. This means that Dodge dealers have an easier time selling a 15-year-old vehicle with a new-car price tag than selling their actual up-to-date products.
Dodge needs to do what it does best: translate old-school desires and charm into products that meet contemporary needs at reasonable prices. That's how the previous-generation Charger and Challenger were so successful, and if Dodge doesn't take this sentiment to heart with its new Charger platform, the future of the brand could look pretty grim.
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 10:00 AM.