In the past, Dodge has combined the Hemi engine with all wheel drive (AWD) for better launches and improved rain and snow handling in the Charger R/T AWD. Indeed, for 2014, even police cars were made available with the combination of Hemi and AWD. For 2015, however, AWD is being restricted to V6 cars. This led to speculation about whether the issue was lack of space, drivetrain weakness, or scheduling — whether the V8/AWD combination was going to be available, but later.
Allpar’s Jim Choate contacted Ralph Gilles, SRT and motorsports chief, and asked for the reason. Mr. Gilles replied that the issue was a “very low take rate” — few customers chose the combination of V8 and all wheel drive. Mr. Gilles’ guess was that “most V8 lovers like a good powerslide once in a while,” adding that Dodgedoesn’t officially endorse such behavior.
So far, there has been no word about what the police can expect from the 2015 Dodge Charger. Most likely, the V6/AWD combination will be available to compete with Ford’s AWD cute-utes, and the five-speed automatic will be dropped; through 2014, the five-speed was the sole transmission available for police cars, even with the V6. Reliable source oh2o suggested that the police might even be able to get a Hemi AWD combination.
As read on: http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2014/04/why-there-is-no-charger-rt-awd
