It’s officially official: Dodge has gone mad and we love it. We have now reached the critical junction in humanity where Dodge will sell you a 1,000bhp, 1,288Nm crate engine to lob in whatever car you like. That, ladies and gents, is what we call progress. Better than that, Dodge has christened this monstrous engine of preposterous power and tremendous torque “Hellephant”. Yes, Hellephant.
All that oomph comes from a supercharged, all-aluminium HEMI block with a 4-inch stroke and an increased bore of 4.125 inches. You can stop rubbing your thighs now, suck, squeeze, bang, blow fans. The name is merely a nod to the infamous 426 HEMI engine that was first introduced in 1964 and nicknamed the “elephant” due to its colossal power and size.
But instead of just unveiling this ridiculous engine on a stand and saying “ta-dah!”, Dodge decided to showcase it in a 1968 Dodge Charger to celebrate the iconic car’s 50th birthday. God bless America.
It’s currently at the SEMA show, and quite frankly is one of the coolest muscle cars we’ve seen this year. The chassis has been modified to allow for the reverse-birth of that four-digit “Hellephant” powerplant, while a T-6060 manual six-speed ‘box from a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat has been added to try its best at getting 1,000bhp to the road. This could be quite the rodeo.
Looks mean, too. That’s thanks to the front wheels being nudged forward two inches to accommodate the flares and shorten the Charger’s overhang. The wheel sizes are also suitably modern, with 20 x 11-inch Devil’s rims pulled from the Hellcat up front, and custom 21 x 12-inch milled aluminium wheels out back. Then the body has dropped 2.5 inches at the rear and 3.5 inches up front while six-piston Brembos make sure they can stop 1,000bhp of go.
Finished in a custom “De Grigio” Grey Metallic, the Challenger has had a supersized hood scoop influenced by the Dodge Demon to make sure the engine can breathe. As you can see, the famed ‘68 Charger’s pop-up headlight design has been tweaked to include the modern Hellcat headlamps which hide behind the grille. Then the donor car’s door handles and drip rails have been shaved, creating a slicker profile. To keep the streamlined look rolling, the front door vent windows have been put in the bin and swapped for one-piece of glass.
But if you bought the 1,000bhp crate engine, what car would you drop the ‘Hellephant’ in?
