How much is too much horsepower?
If you’re Mopar, it appears the answer to that question is “no such thing!” At least if their reveal of the “Hellephant” 426 supercharged HEMI is any indication. Even if you’re as distracted as humanly possible right now, you can’t help but notice the the power and torque figures as they jump off the screen. 1,000 horsepower and 950 lb-ft of torque is within easy reach with Mopar’s latest crate engine and kit. What’s more, Mopar decided to debut this engine under the hood of a striking 1968 Dodge “Super Charger” concept.
Making 1,000 horsepower
The Hellephant 426 engine hits that mammoth 1,000 horsepower figure by way of a 4.0-inch stroke and 4.125-inch bore. That puts the Hellephant at 7.0 liters of displacement, up from the 6.2-liter supercharged engine we’ve seen in the Dodge SRT Hellcats as well as the Demon. Beyond the beefed up displacement, Mopar also fitted an improved supercharger to the aluminum block. The Hellephant logo and name are a nod to the original 426 HEMI, which debuted in 1964. It was nicknamed the “elephant” engine due to its massive size, albeit Dodge rated that engine at just 425 horsepower.
Buying the Hellephant 426 crate engine includes a complete assembly package. With it, you get the water pump, flywheel, oil pan, supercharger, fuel injectors and coil packs. The powertrain control module (PCM) in the kit is unlocked to put out 1,000 horsepower and 950 lb-ft of torque out of the box. Mind you, as with the “Hellcrate” engine, it comes in unique packaging with the Hellephant logo.
While the Hellephant create engine are kit are designed to be plug-and-play, Mopar designed the kit for pre-1976 vehicles. Actually, Mopar clarified by saying “pre-1976 street and off-road vehicles. Oh yeah, you can drop 1,000 horsepower crate engine in an off-road rig.
Pricing isn’t available on the Hellephant 426 HEMI crate engine yet, but it will go on sale in the first quarter of 2019. The Hellcrate sets buyers back around $21,725 with the available kit, so we can safely assume the larger engine will run somewhere north of that.
The 1968 “Super Charger” Concept
Now, just showing off the engine is one thing, but let’s talk about what Mopar slotted this engine into. The 1968 Dodge Super Charger concept is built to accommodate the massive Hellephant 426 engine. This concept gets all that power to the ground by way of a stock Tremec T-6060 six-speed manual transmission that’s in the Hellcat.
Apart from the colossal motor, the “De Grigio” grey metallic paint job and fiberglass front and rear bumpers distinguish the Super Charger concept. It has a two-inch longer wheelbase than the classic Charger, at 119 inches. Underneath, the Super Charger sits on 20-inch Hellcat wheels at the front, and custom-milled 21-inch Devil’s wheels at the back. Mopar dropped the front by 2.5 inches and the rear by 3.5 inches, then fit six-piston Brembo brakes for good measure. Around the back, there are 5-inch dual-walled exhaust tips straight from the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.
Inside, you get a Dodge Viper steering wheel with a Hellephant badge in the center. The center console, toggle switches, wipers, fog lights, and headlamps all come from the Challenger SRT Hellcat. Except the seats – Mopar re-wrapped Dodge Viper seats in Alcantara there.
Sadly, this retro-modern concept will not make it beyond the SEMA show, but at least we’ll have the Hellephant engine. Do you really need 1,000 horsepower? Probably not, but that sort of power in a classic muscle car sounds like a fantastically sinister combination.
Check out the video below to learn even more about the Hellephant crate engine kit:
