autoevolution
 

1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap Is No Mall Crawler

Introduced for the 1987 model year, the Jeep Wrangler took until the 2021 model year to receive a V8 engine in the guise of the 392 HEMI. The free-breathing lump cranks out 470 horsepower and 470 pound-feet (637 Nm), but not even that kind of output is adequate for some peeps.
1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap 10 photos
Photo: America's Most Wanted 4x4
1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap1,000-HP Jeep Wrangler With Hellephant V8 Swap
Thankfully for them, aftermarket companies that include America’s Most Wanted 4x4 have them covered with a flurry of Mopar-developed upgrades. The list starts with a 6.4-liter HEMI that belts out 505 ponies for the princely sum of $35,995, excluding the donor vehicle. The Michigan-based performance shop from Holly further offers the 707-horsepower Hellcat and 840-horsepower Demon engines, and the most expensive option comes in the guise of a Hellephant 426 swap that retails at a mind-numbing $98,995.

The JLU in the photo gallery is dubbed the world’s first Hellephant-powered Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, and it definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. For starters, the 7.0-liter motor develops a hypercar-rivaling 1,000 horsepower and 950 pound-feet (1,288 Nm) of torque. That kind of suck-squeeze-bang-blow needs a properly strong transmission, in this case the ZF 8HP95 eight-speed auto from the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.

Also utilized by the Ram 1500 TRX off-road pickup truck, Aston Martin DBS Superleggera high-performance grand tourer, and plenty of Rolls-Royce models, the gearbox is complemented by a spindled 8LUG 60 Series assembly up front and a spindled 8LUG 80 Series assembly out back. Air lockers from ARB, axle ratios of 4.88 to one, coil-over shock absorbers that enable 14 inches of suspension travel, and 2.0-inch air bumps also need to be mentioned, along with Maxxis RAZR MT rubber and beadlock wheels.

Further augmented with a functional hood scoop, aftermarket headlights, Hellephant decals, a steel bumper up front, and the requisite winch, the no-nonsense rig is definitely a thriller off the beaten path. In terms of cornering prowess on paved roads, especially high-speed cornering such as the moose test, the proper words to describe this hulking brute is “a bit of a handful.”

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories