1000-hp Hellephant crate Hemi sells out in two days
According to a report from Allpar, the 1000-horsepower crate engine from Mopar, known as the Hellephant, has sold out after just two days. The supercharged Gen III Hemi took the best bits from the 6.2-liter Hellcat and Demon engines and applied them to an aluminum short block that displaces 426 cubic inches by way of a 4.125-inch bore and a 4.0-inch stroke—technically it’s 428 cubic inches, just like Chevy’s “427-cu-in” LS7. The engine was first shown at the SEMA show in October 2018, and presales began on April 26. Mopar never released the production numbers for this first run, although Allpar’s best guess was 100.
We found the $29,995 engine listed on the Summit Racing Equipment site, and you can even add it to your cart—only to find out that 0 are available. Such a tease. If you still have a hankering for 426 cubic inches of Hemi crate engine, Edelbrock can help with a Gen III Hemi that makes 800 horsepower for $24,000, and if you’re more into big-block, naturally-aspirated power, Ray Barton has 426 Hemis up to 800 horsepower, as well as 528-cubic-inch Hemis, if you want four-digit horsepower without a blower.
With all the Hellephant engines snapped up so quickly, we hope to see a few under the hoods of project cars soon. You can bet that SEMA 2019 will have a few on display, and with any luck, Mopar will announce that another stampede of Hellephants is on its way. We can’t imagine anyone walking away from such a lucrative crate engine when there’s clearly a market. Maybe Ford and Chevy will get in on the action, as well.