Do They Still Make a 426 Hemi? The Hellephant
The 426 Hemi engine is legendary. Therefore, why wouldn’t anybody want a new one today? For this reason many people ask, do they still make a 426 Hemi?
Dodge, owned by Stellantis, currently produces a 426 Hemi crate engine called the Hellephant. The Hellephant was announced in 2018 and released in 2020. It is not available in production cars. They plan on releasing two more, for a total of three, 426 Hemi crate engines later in 2023.
This will bring the total number of 426 Crate Hemis to three. Currently, there is no talk about any of them being offered in a production car. Keep reading to learn more about each of the 426 engines and their total engine specs.
Today’s 426 Hemi Engines
A 426 Hemi hasn’t been available in production cars since 1971. Since then they have made generation 2 and generation 3 crate Hemi engines. The three engines below is what is made by Dodge/Stellantis today.
Hellephant 426 Supercharged Crate Hemi Engine (A30)
The Hellephant 426 Crate Hemi Engine was announced at the 2018 Sema show in Las Vegas. They had one installed in a “Super Charger” concept car based on the 1968 Charger design.
Check out the Super Charger Concept car in the below video.
The Hellephant became available on April 26, 2019 (Hemi Day = 04/26). They quickly sold out in two days selling approximately 100 of them.
The lucky few that were able to order one had to wait another 14 months to actually get it. Since then none have been available through Direct Connection. Although that is set to change real soon and is available again in 2023. They are calling it the A30 with its part number – P5160184AC.
The A in A30 stands for aluminum block. The 30 is the “proof” on which the engine runs. The 30 proof engine is designed to run on a mix up to 15% ethanol, which is most normal pump gas.
The name “Hellephant” is a combination of two Mopar words, Hellcat and Elephant. I think we all know the modern Challenger Hellcat. Elephant is one of the nicknames given to the Generation 2 Hemi released for racing in 1964.
Learn more about why it was given this nickname in my article, Why the 426 Hemi is Called the Elephant Engine.
The Hellephant is all aluminum, block and heads, and has 1,000 horsepower and 950 lb.-ft. of torque. It is selling for $29,995.
It has a 3.0-liter IHI supercharger.
The table below contains all the specifications for the 426 Hellephant engine.
Hellephant 426 Supercharged Hemi Engine | |
Cubic Inch – Liters | 426 cubic inches – 7.0 Liters |
Bore x Stroke | 4.125 in. X 4.000 in. |
Cylinders | 8 |
Horsepower | 1,000 HP |
Torque | 950 lb.-ft. |
Fuel Type | Recommended Premium |
Fuel Delivery | Port Fuel Injection |
Fuel Injectors | 117 lb/hr @ 58 psi 1230cc/min |
Block | Aluminum with 4-bolt powder metal caps |
Cylinder Heads | 356 aluminum Hemi spherical chambers |
Forced Induction | 3.0L Twin Screw IHI Supercharger |
Max Boost | 18 psi |
Throttle Body | 92 mm |
Compression Ratio | 9.5:1 |
Camshaft | Nodular iron with 0.15 mm duration |
Crankshaft | Forged steel |
Valves | 54.3 mm intake/42 mm exhaust 2.14″ in./1.65″ ex |
Pistons | Forged aluminum |
Connecting Rods | H-beam, 4340 Steel |
Peak RPM | 6,800 RPM |
I was at the dragstrip a few years ago and saw my first Hellephant. The car was getting attention for sure. When it lined up to the starting line everybody at the track, including myself was paying attention.
426 Supercharged Crate Hemi Engine (A170)
The A170 has the same cubic inches and the 3.0-liter IHI supercharger as the A30 engine. The main difference between the two engines is the A170’s fuel system is upgraded for the E85.
It can run on 85 octane making it 170 proof. Another difference between the two is the horsepower. The A170 makes over 1,100 horsepower.
The exact specifications haven’t been released yet. The website has yet to release actual pricing. When it does, I’ll include a spec table like the one above.
Direct Connection 1500 Hemi Crate Engine
The 1500 Hemi crate engine has 426 cubic inches like the Hellephant but with a slightly different bore and stroke. The block is made of cast iron and not aluminum. So the two engines are different.
The 1500 Hemi has 1,500 horsepower and over 1,000 lb.-ft. of torque. It also requires the E85 premium fuel.
It’s the most powerful crate engine ever offered by an American automaker. It has the Gen V Whipple 3.0-liter supercharger.
If you’re thinking this engine must be expensive, you’re correct. The price for the 1500 Hemi is $59,990.
The engine is licensed through Don Schumacher Racing. Its part number is DSR-1500-DC.
The following table contains the specifications.
1500 Hemi Crate Engine | |
Cubic inch – Liters | 426 cubic inches – 7.0 Liters |
Bore x Stroke | 4.100 in. |
Cylinders | 4.050 in. |
Horsepower | 1,500 HP |
Torque | Over 1,000 lb.-ft |
Fuel type | Premium E85 |
Block | Cast iron with 4-bolt main caps |
Cylinder heads | 356 aluminum Hemi |
Compression Ratio | 9.7:1 |
Crankshaft | Ultra Billet Steel |
Connecting rods | Ultra I Beam |
Pistons | Billet aluminum |
Injectors | 1700cc |
That’s the three 426 engines being made today by Dodge/Stellantis.
Hellephant Swap For Your Muscle Car?
You may be wondering if you can do a Hellephant swap into your muscle car. To install the 426 Hellephant engine, Direct Connection states it can be dropped into any pre-1976 vehicle when paired with the “plug and play” engine kit.
That kit is officially called the Hellephant 426 SC Crate Hemi Non-E.O. Engine Kit. It costs $2,265 and its part number is 77072500AC. They include a buyer guide for the Hellephant crate software.
I would love to be working in the engine and dyno rooms. Imagine the guys employed back in the 1963 car era working on the original street Hemi.
If you’re interested in finding out where the original Hemis were made, check out my article, Where Was the Hemi Built?
For the past 40 years, I’ve been studying and researching Mopars and engines like the 426 Hemi. I’ve read books, articles, magazines, watched videos, attended seminars and spoken to other Mopar experts.
Any questions or if you have more information you’d like to contribute, send us an email found specifically on our contact page.
Additional Articles!
Who Invented and Designed the Hemi
Article Resources
- DodgeGarage: A Herd Of Hellephant Engines Coming From Direct Connection
- Direct Connection: Crate Engine
- Stellantis North America: Hellephant in the Room: Mopar Stampedes Into Sema With 1,000-Horsepower 426 Crate Hemi Engine