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1,000 hp Dodge 'Hellephant' V8 is ready to resurrect your classic car



Dodge has summoned another monster from the underworld.

The latest is a new 1,000 hp engine called the “Hellephant” that’s based on the brand’s Hellcat supercharged V8 and will be offered as a crate motor for custom car builders next year.

Its name is a tip of the hat to the original “Elephant” 426 Hemi V8 from the 1960s, and the new engine features an aluminum block with a bigger bore and stroke than the 376 cubic-inch Hellcat’s that brings it up to a historically appropriate 426 cubic-inches.

The engine mixes parts from the engines found in the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye and Demon with its own high-lift cam and forged pistons. A package that includes a power control module and all of the wiring and sensors needed for installation is offered with it, and a front end accessory drive kit is also available to make the process as easy as possible. This is assuming you have a pre-1976 car to put it in, as it’s not street legal in anything newer than that.

To introduce the engine at the Specialty Equipment Markets Assocation (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, Dodge dropped the Hellephant into a heavily modified 1968 Charger it’s calling the Super Charger. The classic has been updated with a stretched wheelbase, fiberglass fender flares and hood, and a modern six-speed manual transmission. The Charger’s signature hidden flip-over headlights have been replaced with a fixed, full width grille with a set of Hellcat headlights peering through it for a menacing look.

Pricing for the Hellephant and accessory kits hasn’t been announced, but the Hellcat-based Hellcrate motor with its measly 707 hp started at just under $20,000 when it was introduced at SEMA last year.

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Originally posted by Sig2340:
So why is Dodge doing this? (Answer below)...

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Pricing for the Hellephant and accessory kits hasn’t been announced, but the Hellcat-based Hellcrate motor with its measly 707 hp started at just under $20,000 when it was introduced at SEMA last year.

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Originally posted by Sig2340:

The Hellephant name is better than the other name they considered, the Hellephino.

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Originally posted by chellim1:

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Pricing for the Hellephant and accessory kits hasn’t been announced, but the Hellcat-based Hellcrate motor with its measly 707 hp started at just under $20,000 when it was introduced at SEMA last year.

Huh... that's an expensive motor. You'd better really be attached to that old car.

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Originally posted by Gustofer:
Lately I've been searching for a '68 Mustang convertible. It was one of my first cars and I'd love to have another.

Just the other day, I was thinking that with the demand for classic cars, I would think that the big three could make a metric shit ton of money if they would build these classics again.

It would take some doing, of course, to get around EPA rules and such, but wouldn't it be awesome to see some "new" Chevelles, Camaros, and Mustangs rolling down the road? You can't tell me that there wouldn't be a market for them.

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Originally posted by wreckdiver:
Nothing on my old Challenger would hold up to that kind of power, price of the new motor would be small, compared to all the other upgrades needed.

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Originally posted by tatortodd:
A Ford employee already did it and started a company called Revology

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Originally posted by hbabler:
I guarantee you that engine will make its way into some spectacular cars that can easily handle the power. Most people spending that kind of coin on an engine don’t do the rest of the car half way. There may be some crappy cars with it but I bet it will be powering some amazing pro touring rides very soon. Restomods are hot right now, a car that appears old and is high tech and high performance underneath. I commend dodge for doing, its impressive and that comes from a dyed in the wool bowtie lover.