Stellantis showed every new Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram model coming at its 2026 Investor Day, and the most eye-catching piece for Dodge fans was the Copperhead, an upcoming two-door that revives a name first used on a 1997 concept car. The styling model sits at the top of Dodge’s lineup and the refreshed SRT subbrand, with a long, low body, a wide stance and a shape that looks built to stir up memories of the Viper without being a copy of it.
The Copperhead’s hood is shorter than a Viper’s, but the rest of the surface treatment leans hard into performance. Its front end is packed with vents and grilles, with slim LED headlights tucked into the openings, and the hood carries a massive S-duct, a large vent behind it and a swollen center bulge. Just behind the front wheels, there is another oversized vent aimed at brake cooling, while the back of the car wears a huge wing that looks like a shrunken Viper ACR piece. Exhaust tips confirm gas power, and a snake badge gives the car a visual link to Dodge’s past.
Dodge would not say what powers the Copperhead, but the visual clues leave little room for doubt that an engine is part of the plan. Car and Driver guessed a V-8 will be involved, and that reading fits with Dodge’s broader messaging over the past year. In March 2026, Dodge CEO Matt McLear told The Drive the automaker would “push the limits” of the Hurricane inline-six, but the company has also been signaling that it has not given up on eight-cylinder muscle.
That shift showed up again in the Charger SRT refresh Dodge revealed alongside the Copperhead. The updated Charger wore a revised front end, a tall rear wing and hood vents, and Dodge hinted at a gas-powered version by saying, “you saw what we did with Ram,” a reference to the return of the Hemi V-8 in the Ram 1500 pickup. Together, the two cars suggest Dodge is trying to keep its performance identity alive with more than one path, even as the industry keeps pushing toward smaller engines and electrification.
The Copperhead is not being officially called a Viper replacement, but that is how the shape lands. The hard points suggest it may be based on the Charger, which would make it very different from the original Viper layout, yet the long hood, snake logo and giant rear wing all point in the same direction. Car and Driver guessed the Copperhead may not arrive until the 2029 model year at the earliest, so for now it remains a preview of where Dodge wants its top-end performance story to go next.
