1,000-HP ‘Hellephant’ 426 Hemi Crate Engine From Mopar Costs $30K, and You Can Order It Now
Why spend the money on a new Toyota Camry when you can have a world-beating, supercharged Hemi under the hood of your project car?
The almighty Mopar "Hellephant" crate engine was revealed at 2019's SEMA show in Las Vegas, boasting 1,000 horsepower and 426 cubic inches of Hemi grunt. It gained internet acclaim thanks to these massively impressive numbers, and soon, the big V8's notoriety will spread to streets and drag strips nationwide as pre-ordering has now kicked off on April 26 (y'know, Hemi Day).
If you plan to sign your name on the dotted line for one of these souped-up powerplants, expect to shell out at least $29,995. Then, if you'll be needing the plug-and-play Hellephant Engine Kit, allot an extra $2,265. By doing this, you'll solidify your spot as a threat at your local quarter-mile and potentially as an unruly headcase to your financial advisor.
“The reaction when we revealed the 'Hellephant' engine at the SEMA show was just amazing, and the momentum continued after the show, with close to 1,000 people expressing interest in buying this engine,” said Steve Beahm, head of parts and service at Mopar and boss of passenger car brands at Fiat Chrysler North America. “Power and performance are ingrained in our brand’s DNA, and there is no better time to open pre-orders of this 1,000-horsepower, supercharged engine than on Hemi Day.”
While there's no telling what customers will stuff their blown 426 Hemis into, Dodge offered a bit of inspiration by releasing a concept called the "Super Charger" at the Hellephant's launch. Based on a 1968 Charger of yore, it featured a slew of new-age parts with an old-school-style manual transmission that was actually sourced from the modern Hellcat. Other one-off bits like a modified Air Grabber hood à la Demon mean the Super Charger would be expensive to recreate, but as we've learned, never put anything past a gearhead with a chunk of disposable change sitting around.
Here's to hoping we start seeing videos of these monstrous Hemis running free ASAP.
