Editor’s note: Get more news from the 2018 SEMA Show in Las Vegas by checking out our dedicated page for daily updates.
Mopar has teased “something big” for this month’s 2018 SEMA show, and it’s residing in a first-generation Dodge Charger.
The video shows a pair of paw prints stamped over with some rather large prints instead. In the distance, we’re treated to a wonderful chugging noise from a loping camshaft before a top-down view brings the classic Dodge Charger into the frame. The video ends on a smokey note with the muscle car performing a burnout.
While we’re not zoologists, the rather large prints lend themselves to a massive beast in the animal kingdom. And one, in particular, seems appropriate: the elephant. Recall, Chrysler’s 426-cubic inch V8 Hemi engine earned the colloquial nickname of “elephant engine” when it entered production in 1964. The engine only found a home in 11,000 factory cars as Chrysler quickly realized the mighty motor was quite costly to build. Recipients of the 426 Hemi V8 were the Dodge Dart, Plymouth Fury and Dodge Coronet.
By 1966 the “Street Hemi” version found its way into many more Dodge and Plymouth cars, though the engines were quite different. Notably, the compression ratio and camshaft weren’t shared with the original elephant engine developed for NASCAR.
The famed 426 Hemi V8 disappeared from the scene in 1971, but a modern version was on display in a 2012 Dodge Charger concept vehicle.
Since SEMA caters specifically to the aftermarket crowd, we’d imagine Mopar has a new 426 Hemi V-8 ready for crate engine duty. Last year, it graced us with a 707-horsepower Hellcat crate engine at the show.
Should a new elephant engine turn up, it’ll have some competition. Chevrolet Performance revealed its 6.2-liter LT5 supercharged V-8 crate engine ahead of the show. It’s the same engine that powers the 755-horsepower Chevy Corvette ZR1.
The good news is that we’ll find out very soon what Mopar has planned.
That is not a first generation Charger in this video it is 2nd.