Mopar 426 'Elephant' Hemi V8 Revealed

Mopar fans rejoice because production officially begins this month for the new 426 Hemi V8 crate engine, priced at $13,675 (€10,277). The engine, along with a 2011 Dodge Challenger V10 Drag Pak, will debut at the Performance Racing Industry show from December 9th to the 11th.The Mopar 426 Hemi Crate Engine is all-aluminum and comes with a rating of 540 hp and 530 pound-feet of torque (718 Nm).

Nine other new Mopar performance parts were on display at the show, from aluminum engine blocks for Hemi Gen III engines to a cold-air intake kit designed for 2008-2010 Challengers, Chargers, and Chrysler 300s with the 3.5-liter V6 engine.

"More than any other show, PRI attracts the Mopar brand's core customers of racers, muscle-car owners and ultra-performance enthusiasts. We will show this core group of enthusiasts what Mopar has under the hood," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO, Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand.

In addition to the 426 Hemi, Chrysler also brought the 2011 Mopar Challenger V10 Drag Pak, the first and only 500-plus cubic-inch V10 drag-race package car on the planet. In the Drag Pak Challenger, the 8.4-liter engine is mated to a two-speed automatic transmission and is built for sanctioned NHRA Stock and Super Stock configurations. Pricing begins at $85,512 (€63,972) excluding an added roll cage, net and harness, which costs an extra $7795 (€5,760). Production begins early next year.

The new Drag Pak was joined this weekend in the Mopar Image Center by a Moparized 2010 Ram Laramie Crew 4x4 Diesel and the Mopar '10 Challenger, the first-ever Mopar edition of the Chrysler muscle car.