With Stellantis opting to supplant the HEMI V8 with the Hurricane inline six-cylinder engine, there was a gnashing of teeth from Mopar fans who viewed the change as unpleasantly European. The manufacturer is well aware of this and has been fielding special editions of V8-powered models to profit as much as possible off the larger displacement engines before they’re discontinued.
It’s now the Dodge Durango’s turn, with Stellantis announcing “last call” editions of the V8-equipped SUV.
While the Durango SRT 392 and Durango SRT Hellcat will still be on offer for another year, Dodge has decided to limit production and change some names on the sendoff models. The first of the last extra-special V8 Durango SUVs will be called the “SRT 392 AlcHEMI” and production will be capped at just 1,000 units.
Considering that the main purpose of the model is just to say that you bought the last one, Dodge hasn’t made any major mechanical changes. It retains the same 475-horsepower, 6.4-liter Hemi V8 as before. However, the vehicle has been given a lot of black badging, some yellow badging, Satin Black forged SRT wheels, black exhaust tips, yellow Brembo brake calipers, and contrasting exterior stripes.
Inside, the AlcHEMI yields yellow and silver stitching on the upholstery, some carbon-fiber accenting, and more specialized badging.
“Just as we did with the Dodge Charger and Challenger, it’s time to celebrate the V-8 HEMI engine that has powered Dodge domination of the performance SUV segment,” stated Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis. “Special-edition ‘Last Call’ models of the Durango will roll out during 2024 as we honor the most powerful SUV ever.”
Dodge said the MSRP would be $3,595 higher than that of a Dodge Durango SRT 392 premium model, so customers can expect to shell out roughly $90,000 before encountering any attempted dealer markups. That’s pretty steep for what’s effectively an appearance package and customers can still buy the 5.7-liter Durango models until the end of 2024 — when Stellantis plans on formally suspending V8 production.
Colors will be limited to Diamond Black, Destroyer Gray, Vapor Gray and White Knuckle with the hues being evenly divided into 250-unit batches. However, it’s probably not going to be the only sendoff trim for the Durango. Dodge is expected to drop a special edition of the Durango SRT Hellcat later this year, likely with some similarly goofy changes made to its name.
While it’s nice to see the company giving some love to the models that helped make Dodge stand out as a truly unique automotive brand, there’s definitely something about these last call models that feels like Stellantis is just trying to turn a quick buck on the demise of the V8. Unless you’re a collector, it’s hard to rationalize buying one of these limited-edition models. Dodge doesn’t seem to be dumping any of the more pedestrian trims and they’re basically the same thing if you can do without the stripes. But we’ll see what comes when it times for the Hellcat variant to receive a goodbye special of its own. Maybe it will have a bit more going on.
[Images: Stellantis]
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