The manual transmission option of the Dodge Challenger Hellcat will disappear in 2021.

Dodge has dropped the manual transmission option on the Challenger SRT Hellcat during 2021, Road & Track reported Tuesday. However, it plans to bring it back.

According to Road & Track, production of the Challenger Hellcat manual model was suspended in November 2021. Currently, the 2022 Challenger Hellcat cannot be configured with a manual, but that option is expected to return at an unspecified date.

The absence of the manual is temporary, spokesman Dave Elshoff told Motor Authority, as Dodge is working on a revised calibration for the Hellcat and manual combinations. However, he did not tell us when orders for the manual Hellcat would resume.

For now, the 5.7-liter V-8 Challenger R/T model and the 6.4-liter V-8 Scat Pack model can still get the six-speed manual.

The 2022 Challenger will enter the new model year with minor updates. Major changes include a new Jailbreak option for the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody and the addition of model-specific exterior color and interior trim options. Dodge is also reviving its Direct Connection Performance Parts program, which was launched in 1974 to provide genuine parts for Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth muscle cars.

The Challenger has been available since 2008, and sales have remained strong, averaging over 60,000 units per year for the past six years. Dodge has stated that the Challenger and its four-door Charger siblings will remain in their current form through the end of 2023. It is expected that Dodge will offer a Challenger successor, perhaps electrified in some form, but it is unclear whether the Hellcat engine will survive into the next generation.