Direct Connection Shows Off Hurricane-Powered Drag Pak At Roadkill Nights

Over the past decade, Dodge has dominated the North American V8 performance market, showcasing a range of HEMI® V8 engines with power outputs spanning from 370 to a remarkable 1,025 horsepower. This has solidified Dodge’s position as a front-runner in the muscle car realm. However, breaking away from tradition, Dodge recently announced a shift towards … (read full article...)

 

[Mopar392]

If the engine didn’t get the attraction at the one place the car is famous for, it might be a DOA.

 

[the pup]

If the engine didn’t get the attraction at the one place the car is famous for, it might be a DOA.

It is doa That "motor " is not a replacement for the hemi,it sounds like crap. This is the Europeanifacation of an icon and it is awful.

 

[redriderbob]

 

[Mastertech63]

My old Slant 6 Aspen wagon drag car sounded better than that!

 

[James.A]

Yikes... IDK

 

[vbondjr1]

Soooo. I just watched the clip of the Hurricane on my TV because I wanted to get the full experience since I was not at Roadkill Nights. I also watched another YouTube video of a guy who's channel I follow as he did his own presentation from Roadkill Nights. There are several things I took away from what I saw. So first thing's first. I wasn't expecting the Hurricane to sound remotely close to any pushrod v8 so in that sense I wasn't disappointed because guess what? It sounds NOTHING like a Hemi V8! Not a shocker there. But It does sound like this particular venue was not only the debut of the Hurricane so the public could see it in person, but kind of like with the Banshee, it was to gauge public reaction and really see what needs to be tweaked. Keep in mind in the video it was even said that this is a prototype vehicle so again, not production. Sound wise for an Inline-6, it sounds a bit like a BMW I-6, which is one of my least favorite sounding Inline-6 powertrains. But even they can be tuned to sound decent so hopefully they can do with this engine whatever it is that Toyota does with their Inline-6 turbo engines to make this sound alot better. Now, to be fair. It's hard to top what Dodge has done with the muscle car industry since 2016 and the dawn of the Hellcats. You're not going to top those engines so let's take this into consideration as well. In it's own right, I think the Hurricane engines are going to be great engines and they have alot of potential and through certain things unsaid in a conversation that someone had with a Direct Connection official rep, there is going to be more in store for the hurricane I-6 so as excited as I am to see the Hurricane in a current gen vehicle and to see that Dodge is pushing forward with gas-powered vehicles, I realize that this was just a "placeholder" until we see what is really going on with the next-gen cars. Notice they didn't push anything about the Banshee so this may be a sign that we're going to start seeing a bit more of the development of the ICE powertrains and what they really have in store for the near future. To be perfectly honest, I'm not a fan of the way it sounds and that's not because it's not a V8. Whatever dumped race exhaust they had on this vehicle was not flattering at all. Here's hoping that there is going to be a lot of tweaking before this powertrain reaches the next-gen performance vehicles

 

[Bigblockboo]

Dodge has pulled a "Budlight" on this one. The only people who will like the 6 cyl are the young people who think 4 and 6 cyl's are cool and drive imports. These are also the people who either can't afford a new car or will never drive a Dodge. They will only drive the imports. Killing the V8 will be the nail in Chrysler's coffin.

 

[Owen_T.]

These comments are hilarious. I joined the site just to comment on the sad state of Dodge fans. They don't care about the brand and their history and want to see them succeed. No, they just want them to keep building the gas-guzzling pushrod v8s that are going to run the company into the ground. You were never going to buy one anyways so why do you care?
Also seems like the average Dodge fan is about 60+.

 

[Owen_T.]

It is doa That "motor " is not a replacement for the hemi,it sounds like crap. This is the Europeanifacation of an icon and it is awful.

Wow, you must work at Chrysler and have the inside scoop. Because replacing the old-fashioned dinosaur Hemi is exactly what the Hurricane is going to do.
And for the "europeanifacation" you're talking about. Did you forget that this "Icon" you love so much has been owned by a multitude of different European companies because it can't make enough money on its own? You got Daimler then Fiat and Now it's the French and based out of the Netherlands.

 

[TripleT]

Wait what some are saying is a more potent engine with 2 spinning mufflers doesn't sound like an ancient push rod V8?

I bet it doesn't tick either.... The way it sounds is the most important thing to a Drag racing??????

BAHAHAHAHA I want to be slower and louder not faster by anyone interest in a ETA. LS sound like crap and people swap them into everything.

Engine is dead because of how it sound is nonsense.... after market exhausts will help with that.

 

[TripleT]

These comments are hilarious. I joined the site just to comment on the sad state of Dodge fans. They don't care about the brand and their history and want to see them succeed. No, they just want them to keep building the gas-guzzling pushrod v8s that are going to run the company into the ground. You were never going to buy one anyways so why do you care?
Also seems like the average Dodge fan is about 60+.

No in reality the Buying Demo is the lowest in the Industry. The bitching about not making a slower gas guzzling engine that has a $2500 fine attached to it is by Keyboard warriors over 60.

Anything with Turbos is muffled because it has a spinning muffler attached to it. One of the best Mopar engines ever made sounded like a off kilter tractor the Viper V10. When you set track records the sound kind of doesnt matter as much.

 

[Mopar392]

I do realize how potent the Hurricane is, but I'm also for the idea that HEMI still had a life in it if the rumored projects didn't go to the burner.

If I have to explain what the exhaust sound of an engine and car reflects, beside how fast and quick the car is, then whoever buying these cars should just buy another appliance.

 

[TripleT]

Hemi had its day it will live on at Mopar indefinitely…..

If one’s only idea of fast is how it sounds then they are a low information enthusiast.

Anyone with even modest understanding of engines know it’s impossible for a Turbo engine to be as loud and rumbling as a naturally aspirated V8.

Turbo Indycar engine isn't as loud as Nascar engine either. Spinning Mufflers also.

ETA or lap time is what matters. Lumpy Viper was the quickest Mopar ever and still one of the fastest lapping Production car ever made...

Friend of mine says she misses her Scat pack sounds..... Hellcat Redeye owner now. Gorgeous purple widebody car.

Yeap my 392 sounds better, not line up against her any day.

 

[James.A]

A lot of apologetics from Triple T and Owen for this lackluster debut. The video called "several" quarter mile runs "reserved" leaving the crowd perplexed... Pair reserved performance from the H.O. variant (that has a direct connect stage III cat worked into it) with that anemic lawnmower sound and it's not a good look at all. This could very well be the end of the road for your theoretical apologetics. You can go on about company longevity and the Hemi being obsolete all day but other brands have updated their V8's (Europeans) or kept what they have (FORD) and aren't going out of business. The Hemi isn't what will put this brand under - poor management and bad decisions will. When you can get a base model Hemi car with 2.75 inch Mopar exhaust stock with the car, nobody wants to hear about going to the aftermarket to spend a few thousand more on top of what is very likely to be a more expensive car than we have now, just to make it sound less s&!%. If the gas powered car has a Hornet nose slapped on the front leaving the cool retro design to the EV while delivering "reserved" performance with depressing aesthetics this model may very well go tits up in a generation or less and take the brand along with it. However, I've seen very good reviews of the S.O. and H.O. Hurricane's in the Wagoner. My only hope is that those are a truer representation of what we'll get.

 

[redriderbob]

Keep in mind this was the H.O. (CAT3) motor, not the CAT X Drag Pak version...

 

[redriderbob]

Ford made their Barra engine awesome, hopefully Chrysler engineers can too

 

[James.A]

Ford made their Barra engine awesome, hopefully Chrysler engineers can too

That's AWESOME

 

[patfromigh]

The poster children for DOA are the 1970s E-Bodies, the Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda. During that decade, GM was going to axe the Camaro for having a few years with sales volumes dropping to the E-Body Challenger's best sales year. Speaking of pony car sales history, I predict the new V8 Mustang won't out perform the the Mustang II's V8 sales volumes.

Those of us who completed six decades of complete Earth orbits in this solar system remember the death of muscle cars in the 1970s, along with the Chrysler big block's ugly final years with the Lean Burn. We have already lived through the death of a Hemi, while some of us remember both previous Hemi generations.

We remember when Dodge morphed the Charger into a Cordoba clone one decade, and then into a sports model econobox in the next. The Challenger was briefly a four cylinder import. The 1980s started the K-car years where turbo fours were the hot performance setup. The newly downsized Jeep Cherokee wasn't under the Chrysler umbrella yet, but I bring up that model because it limped out of the starting gate with a truly horrendous GM V6 under the hood. Jeep engineers shoehorned the old straight six under the hood, transforming it into a hot setup. Performance improved every year along with the horsepower of that ancient inline six. Those who remember that ancient AMC engine look forward to a return of the straight six Grand Cherokee.

 

[zdaytona]

In-line 6 isn't gonna be worth a dam. Dodge might as well start filling out them bankruptcy papers. Cause Ford already looses 66k per ev sold and the mustangs will still have v8s. So looks like Ford will be back on top again. Great job stellantis. (EPIC Fail)