Not so long ago, American V8 engines were revered for their nostalgic, single overhead cam, no-frills, no-fuss, pig-iron burble and simplicity. Now there seems to be a Civil War of horsepower taking place across the Atlantic. Steady on lads.
It started with General Motors and the supercharged V8 LSA engine that developed 432 kW. Then the Shelby Mustang GT500 started pumping out 493 kW. Now Chrysler, presumably flush with cash courtesy of Fiat, say they’re developing an engine with as much as 477 kW. They’re calling it the Hemi Hellcat. Nice name.
A 6.2-litre Hemi V8 engine codenamed the ‘Hellcat’ could soon be transforming the somewhat-tepid performance of the Dodge Challenger SRT8 (pictured here) and the Chrysler 300C SRT8. It’s said to debut in the next-generation Challenger, and it could rival the power output of the bonkers 8.4-litre V10 that powers the SRT Viper. The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 should be afraid, very afraid.
Engineers at Chrysler reportedly see the Hellcat as something of a ‘last hurrah’ before corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards in the U.S. kick up a gear. The next-generation Challenger is expected to go into production in mid-2014, so expect to learn more about the model in the coming models.
The Hemi V8 from Chrysler is built in 5.7-litre and 6.4-litre guises, but it’s not clear what Chrysler has planned to succeed the current range. While we’d like to believe the Ferrari-built 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 out of Maserati might be on the cards for future models (as opposed to other smaller capacities and forced induction engine) we doubt Ferrari has the capacity to make as many as Chrysler may need in the future. Until then, bring on the Hemi Hellcat.