Back in November, Mopar shook up the automotive world when they rolled the wraps off their latest Mopar Crate HEMI® Engine at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas. The 1,000 horsepower “Hellephant” 426 Supercharged Mopar Crate HEMI engine was the first 1,000 horsepower crate engine kit offered by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). With the announcement, the internet was set ablaze with confusing information about the new engine.
Since then, there have been several websites and YouTube channels stating some very wrong information about the “Hellephant” 426 Supercharged Mopar Crate HEMI engine. One of those “rumors” is that the engine itself will be offered in a Dodge production vehicle straight from the factory. MoparInsiders, actually has received a lot of e-mail regarding this topic. So much so, we thought we would break it down into an actual article.
First, let’s talk about the origins of the Hellephant 426 Supercharged Mopar Crate HEMI engine in its current form. The Hellephants aluminum 426 block was created in collaboration between Mopar and a company called Tool Engineering International or TEI for short. It is not a block currently shared with any other engine in FCAs lineup and according to our sources the 426 Hellephant shares nothing except for displacement with the rumored upcoming 7.0L 426 Hemi V8.
Second, Mopar has stated that the engine must be used in vehicles manufactured before 1976 and/or are strictly for off-road use only. The reason behind that is of course… emissions. Crate engines also are not subject to such extreme durability and driveability targets that a production engine would be.
Another good point is that you don’t make a production engine out of a crate engine, but you do make a crate engine out of a production engine. So if they were going to use the Hellephant in a mass-production vehicle, you best believe they would introduce the production version in the car first, to create the extra buzz at launch. Similar to how the SRT HELLCAT cars were launched in 2014 as 2015 models. Mopar then released the HELLCrate Mopar Crate HEMI engine in late October of 2017.
Some people have questioned us about why would Mopar spend resources in development for such an engine if it’s made for limited production. The reason is marketing! Mopar builds concepts for events like the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, SEMA, and other automotive events to showcase products, get customer feedback on new conceptual Mopar parts and accessories, as well as build attention for the brand. While many automakers build concept cars, it doesn’t mean those exact vehicles are coming to market.
The Hellephant 426 Supercharged Mopar Crate HEMI engine, is more or less a marketing tool to promote the brand. While production will be very limited, the engines themselves have sparked a ton of traffic to various Mopar websites and social media. The cost alone for the special crate engines will be out of reach to many of the buying public.
While Mopar has yet to release actual pricing for the Hellephant, the 6.2-liter HELLCrate Supercharged HEMI V8 has an MSRP of $20,020 US from Mopar. So using the special race-based block as well as 3.0-liter supercharger compared to the 2.3-liter IHI unit found on the normal HELLCAT HEMI, expect the Hellephant to have a significantly higher price than the HELLCrate package.
We reached out to Mopar for an official comment on the situation, here is what Mopar had to say…
The “Hellephant” 426 Supercharged Mopar Crate HEMI Engine is a specially-built crate engine application. – Mopar
With that being said, we are 100% positive you will not see the Hellephant engine in any FCA production vehicle in the future. Simply said if FCA decides to build a 1,000 horsepower mass production engine, it would have to be a completely different engine to meet the harsh emission regulations put forth by various governments.
