You will hear the roar of our engines!
Appropriate that Chrysler uses this for a tag line in their new commercial - because for the last 60 years, the standard for ground-shaking horsepower is a single word - HEMI. Chrysler produced 2 lines of "Hemi" engines in the 50's - the small (270 ci)"Red Ram" or DeSoto, and the mighty "FirePower" - 331-392 cu. in. in stock form. Aluminium 417 c. version by Donovan Engineering
In the early 60's, Chrysler comissioned Weslake Engines to design a HEMI cylinder head for the then-current big-block "wedge" engine, resulting in the "426 Hemi". Several aftermarket mfrs. - KB, BAE, TFX, JP, AJ
The hemispherical combustion chamber design is particularly good for exotic, alcahol based fuels, including nitromethane, and lends itself well to supercharging.
A 426 Hemi, in a Charger Daytona at the Bonneville speed trials
The Burkland's 450mph streamliner twin Donovan 417's blown on alcahol
Al Teague - handbuilt on a paycheck, 408 mph - "Stage 5" Hemi, blown on 60% nitro
2nd car in vid
Vintage dragsters fire up en masse for a "cacklefest" at the California Hot Rod Reunion 2011
New England Dragway pro finals
