Dodge and HEMI: A Legendary Combination

Few words have as immediate or as visceral an impact on muscle-car fans as the word “HEMI” and the feeling of raw power and performance it elicits. If you go to your used Dodge dealer in Lexington looking for a vehicle that is incredibly fun to drive and can deliver on the kind of power you’ve heard about from Dodge, then looking for a model with a HEMI engine is a great place to start. However, not every Dodge has a HEMI, so you’ll need to refine your search a bit and focus on certain models to find what you need.

Today, we’re going to take a look at the HEMI in all its glory and talk about what it is, why it’s so sought after, and where you can find it. You’re not going to be able to rebuild your own engine after reading this or anything, but if you’ve ever wondered what all the fuss is about, then you’re about to learn. And with a sense of what to look for, it’ll be a lot easier to head to our dealership and find a model with the kind of power and performance you need.

What is a HEMI Engine?

Before we start looking at the vehicles you’ll find with a HEMI engine here at Dan Cummins, let’s take a moment to talk about what a HEMI is in the first place. In general terms, the name refers to an engine that features a combustion chamber with a hemispherical, which is to say “half a sphere,” design. The combustion chamber of an engine is just what it sounds like: the spark plug fits into it, and it’s where combustion in your internal combustion engine takes place.

Most engines of the past featured a flathead design, where the combustion chamber had a flat top to it – you’ll still find these on lawnmowers because they’re inexpensive to make. A hemispherical design for an engine, however, greatly boosts power by maintaining high temperatures and keeping pressure within the chamber where it should be. The hemispherical design also allows for larger valves on the engine, which also helps produce more power when it’s working.

A Brief History of the HEMI

Hemispherical designs for engines go back nearly as long as the history of the automobile itself – but they’re difficult and expensive to make, so they were generally ignored. In 1948, Harry Westlake and other designers created a hemispherical engine for a Jaguar model, featuring six cylinders for impressive performance. Following that, in 1951, Chrysler introduced its first hemispherical engine: a V8 with a displacement size of 5.4L or 331 cu. in. – which is why it was called the 331 Hemi (we’ll get to the all-caps “HEMI” in a moment).

This first engine was called the “Firepower” and started what would become the HEMI legacy. The 331 Hemi produced 180 hp, which was massive for its time and was an absolute beast in 1951. Chrysler continued to iterate upon and improve the engine’s design: producing a 354 cu. in. engine in 1956, a 392 cu. in. model in 1957, and a 426 cu. in. engine in 1964. This 426 Hemi changed everything: cars with this engine placed first, second, and third in the NASCAR Daytona 500 in 1964, and the true Hemi legend was born!

In 1965, the street model of the 426 HEMI was released (this was the point where Chrysler began using the name “HEMI” for the engines, and would eventually go on to trademark that term for their engines). It was a 7.0L V8 engine that delivered 425 hp and changed American muscle cars forever. The HEMI engines you can find at your used Dodge dealer are direct descendants of this legendary model and still deliver incredible amounts of power.

HEMI Models

The Dodge Charger

If you are looking for a muscle car with incredible performance, then the Dodge Charger is a great place to start. You’ll probably find models from different years at your used Dodge dealer, but the current Charger has been in production for a while now with fairly limited changes. There are four different engines available for the more recent Charger models, and three of them are HEMIs!

The standard engine is a 3.6L V6 engine, so skip this one if you want a HEMI engine in your car. Instead, look for a Charger R/T model since it has a 5.7L HEMI V8 engine standard, which delivers up to 370 hp and up to 395 lb-ft of torque. If you find a used model that was upgraded with the Charger Scat Pack, however, then it will have a 392 HEMI V8 engine that provides up to 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. You’re not going to find a ton of these at your used Dodge dealer, but they are out there.

For a truly insane level of performance, however, you can look for a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat model, which features a Supercharged 6.2L HEMI V8 engine, delivering up to 707 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. Yes, that’s right: 707 hp! These are pretty rare as used models, so you might need to do a lot of looking or work closely with your local used Dodge dealer to find one. Finally, there is the 2018 Dodge Charger Demon. Only produced for a single model year, this incredibly rare variant uses a supercharged 6.2L HEMI that is tuned to produce 808 hp and 717 lb-ft of torque.

The Dodge Challenger

As impressive as the Charger is, if you want a two-door model that has an unmatched legacy of power behind it, then you can’t beat the Dodge Challenger. There are three different HEMI engines available for the second-generation Challenger, which was introduced for 2011. The Challenger R/T comes with a 5.7L HEMI V8 engine standard, which offers 370 hp and 395 lb-ft of torque. Much like with the Charger, there is also a 6.4L HEMI V8 engine that delivers up to 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque in the Challenger SRT 392 and R/T Scat Pack editions.

If you’re looking for extreme power, then try to find a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, which features a Supercharged 6.2L HEMI V8 engine that provides up to 707 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. Much like with the Charger, these can be hard to find, so it’s best to work closely with a used Dodge dealer to help you locate one. The latest Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye model, however, features a High-Output version of that engine, which delivers an insane 797 hp and up to 707 lb-ft of torque. It’s truly a beast, and there’s nothing else quite like it on the road.

The Dodge Durango

Of course, impressive HEMI engines are not restricted to the Challenger and Charger at your used Dodge dealer. If you’re looking for an SUV and want an incredible amount of power and performance at your command, then the Dodge Durango could have you covered. The most recent generation of this three-row SUV has been offered with four different engines, and three of them are HEMIs.

Although the standard 3.6L V6 engine is certainly fine, the available 5.7L HEMI V8 engine in the Durango R/T delivers so much more power with up to 360 hp and up to 390 lb-ft of torque. For even more impressive performance, look for a Durango SRT model at your used Dodge dealer to find a 6.4L HEMI V8 engine that provides up to 475 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque for an incredible driving experience. And while it is not yet available on the used market, a Durango Hellcat with the supercharged 6.2L HEMI V8 was just released for the 2021 model year.

The Power of HEMI

As you can see, you have a lot of options for a HEMI engine, and the above list is just scratching the surface of everything that you can find on the used market. However, the HEMI is not standard on these models, so tracking one down can be tricky. That’s when it helps to have an established used Dodge dealer by your side to help you locate the exact car you desire. Call or come visit us at Dan Cummins today, tell us what you’re looking for, and we’ll help you find it.

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