Dodge's Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust starts sounding mean

Trained ears and software programmers at Dodge have been working on the automaker’s Fratzonic Exhaust Dodge for more than two years now. The first version we heard from two years ago sounded too electric, the second draft from a year ago injected a few notes of necessary muscle. Now, more than a year later, we’re getting a taste of the third arrangement. This one is a lot closer to genuine muscle. Dodge ran a Charger Daytona through a tunnel to start the sample — getting an acoustic assist in the process — but even after the underpass, that ICE cadence of perfectly timed explosions rings clear. We don’t know what happened between the second take and this one. To our ears, this sounds remarkably close to a recording of a V8, although Dodge previously said that isn’t how they’d use the system.

For a refresher, the Fratzonic Exhaust is basically a speaker driver with a tuned box and dual “passive radiators,” which are speaker cones without drivers. In situations where space is an issue, these so-called “drone cones” work off of sound pressure in the enclosure and help create deeper pitches. Dodge claims the mechanical combination and tuning lets the battery-electric Charger Daytona hit the same 126 dB exhaust level as the gas-powered Hellcat models. And we were told that these aren’t merely recorded noises from Dodge’s ICE range, the team creating unique sounds for each electric powertrain level that involve familiar notes and the cadence of a V8. Also, each powertrain will offer multiple sounds for each vehicle, the volume and tone varying based on the drive mode selected. Dodge also confirmed owners will be able to “rev” the Charger Daytona when at a stop, adding to the old-school performance feeling.

We shouldn’t be far off finding out how it all comes together in real life. The electric muscle car was reportedly delayed three months to work out some kinks. Assuming Dodge is back on track, we expect a debut this month and more information on that First Edition pricing.