Dodge unveils new 1500hp Crate Hemi V8 at SEMA 2022

Oct 23, 2023

Dodge's Hellephant was the king of off-the-shelf crate engine grunt when it debuted several years ago, and even with the EV age seemingly bearing down on us, that hasn't stopped the company from giving the monster Hemi V8 another fistful of stonk.

The top of the tree is the monster 1500hp HEMI 1500.

For SEMA 2022, Dodge has unveiled a whole new range Hellephant crate motors based on the GEN III HEMI, consisting of five different versions ranging from 900hp up to the spiciest iteration that claims an eye-watering 1500hp, which you can read more about below.

The new engines have been improved with the help of factory-backed Direct Connection parts from DSR Performance. All the new Hellephants feature DSR's 3.0-litre IHI supercharger, and can be had in either cast-iron or aluminium blocks (denoted by either a C or A in the engine numbers).

Other improvements for the 1000hp and 1100hp versions include a larger supercharger pulley, 105mm throttlebody, upgraded heads and valvetrain, stronger pistons, upgraded pushrods, copper-lead main and rod bearings, billet steel main caps, and E85 compatibility right out of the box.

Here's the full breakdown from Dodge's press release on all four new Hellephant variants:

Dodge unveiled the new Hellephant range alongside the twin-turbo, straight-six HurriCrate series of engines at SEMA, showing the company has no intention of turning its back on ICE powerplants anytime soon.

"The demand from enthusiasts for performance parts for the street and strip continues to grow, and Direct Connection will continue to be there to feed it," said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis.

The big mamma jamma of them all is the 1500 HEMI from DSR Performance.

This baby is capable of (you guessed it) 1500hp and 1000lb-ft. Boasting 427-cubes (7.0-litres) cast iron block, the 1500 HEMI gets its edge over the rest with a ported 3.0-litre Whipple blower, Billet steel crank, I-Beam rods, billet aluminum pistons, ported HEM 356 aluminum cylinder heads a different camshaft, and 1700cc injectors to feed it with E85.

There's no word on pricing or availability on the engines either here or Stateside at the time of writing.

Having spent his teenage years racing and wrenching on cars, Kian studied journalism at university only a few years ago before launching his career as a fresh-faced intern at Street Machine in 2018.