Power Lovers Rejoice: The 1,000-HP Hellephant HEMI Crate Engine Is Back

After a few years of electrified muscle cars, the Dodge and Ram brands have been undergoing a pretty significant HEMI revival in recent months. In response to customer demand, Ram brought back the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine to its Ram 1500 pickup line, and there are persistent rumors about Dodge bringing the V8 back to the new Charger, which is currently offered with only turbocharged six-cylinder or battery electric powertrains. 

While it remains to be seen exactly how far the HEMI revival will go in terms of Stellantis' upcoming production vehicles, hardcore Mopar enthusiasts and V8 horsepower junkies alike will be happy to hear that Direct Connection (Stellantis' aftermarket performance division) is in the process of relaunching a couple of its high-horsepower HEMI crate engines. One of these two is the 1,000-hp supercharged HEMI known as the Hellephant. The relaunch of the Hellephant comes as part of a reinvigorated V8 performance push from Dodge that also includes a new Drag Pak version of the 2026 Dodge Charger powered by a race-bred V8. 

The Direct Connection Hellephant A30 426 Supercharged Crate HEMI, as it's officially branded, is a beloved member of the Dodge Hellcat engine family, which first came onto the scene more than a decade ago. The crate Hellephant first debuted at the 2018 SEMA Show and has just been relaunched at the 2025 SEMA Show with a number of updates. It still displaces the same 426 cubic inches as the original variant, but now gets a newly designed and strengthened engine block, a new crankshaft, and an updated supercharger design, among other changes. The price for all that horsepower? About $35,000. Orders for the new Hellephant are currently open, with customer shipments to begin in November 2025.

Along with the relaunched Hellephant, Direct Connection also showed off a new crate version of its race-winning 354 supercharged Drag Pak HEMI engine. It's the same engine that will power the just-unveiled, ready-to-run $235,000 2026 Dodge Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pack Pak race car. Though it's a race-only model that will be limited to just 50 units, both the Hustle Stuff Charger and the relaunch of the Hellephant crate engine send out a strong signal that an official rebirth of HEMI-powered Dodge street muscle cars seems very likely, if not inevitable, at this point.