Dodge Has A New Sports Car Coming – But It's Not A Viper

Dodge recently announced a new sports car. It will not be the second coming of the Viper, but it will be named after a different snake. Dodge will name its new sports car the Copperhead, which also happens to be the name of the car shown above, a concept car produced by Dodge for the 1997 Detroit Auto Show. While Dodge has not released any photos, the automotive press corps assembled for Stellantis' 2026 Investor Day was permitted to see a styling prototype of the Copperhead and have described it as best they could. In the absence of any concrete facts about the Copperhead, there is a lot of wild speculation flying around.

The new Dodge Copperhead is expected to debut as a 2029 model. It will sit at the apex of the Dodge lineup, with a full-blown SRT model that could potentially be powered by a supercharged Hellcat Hemi V8, which currently makes 777 horsepower in the Ram SRT TRX. There is also the potential of a hybrid-based setup, incorporating electric motors that could increase the Copperhead's performance even more. The Copperhead's performance should improve on the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, a rare and guilty pleasure.

The Dodge Copperhead is not expected to be based on the current Dodge Charger, but it will exhibit much higher performance levels than those currently shown by the Charger, which does just fine with an inline-six. The Copperhead's body has been described as a two-door that is both low and long, with narrow LED headlights setting off the front end. 

The Copperhead shown to the press was finished in light gray with blue racing stripes, with a huge wing gracing the back end. It is powered primarily by an internal combustion engine, as evidenced by many vents and grilles in the front, as well as dual exhausts. Other styling cues that promise high performance include the large brake cooling vents placed behind the front wheels, the power bulge in the hood, and the hood vent to bring outside air to the engine for additional cooling effect. According to Car and Driver, the Copperhead also displays a, "...cool snake logo that is definitely reminiscent of the Viper badge."

Some other speculation has seen estimates of a starting price of "at least $100,000," also according to Car and Driver. Tim Kuniskis, who is the head of Stellantis' North American brands and leader of SRT, more recently told The Drive that the Copperhead isn't built on the Charger platform, which requires space for a battery pack that has the effect of raising the floor for all versions of the platform. Instead, the Copperhead will share its platform with another Stellantis-branded vehicle from one of the company's many brands – one that is already made somewhere else in the world. This is the only way to achieve the economies of scale required to make low-production "halo cars" that don't lose massive amounts of money. Kuniskis' more recent comments indicate that the Copperhead won't have a hybridized V8, but that "...there could be another engine coming that nobody's aware of..." Stay tuned.