Photo: Mecum Auctions
Back in 1964, the original Chrysler Elephant 426-cubic-inch HEMI V8's 425 horsepower figure was one of the most impressive in automotive history up to that point. With its genesis in the crucible of motorsport and enough displacement to make a ship feel bad about itself, it set the stage for the muscle car era like no other. Nearly six decades later, we still obsess over 60s muscle. But our engine tech is a heck of a lot better. Just look at this 1968 Plymouth Road Runner running the old Elephant HEMI's spiritual successor.
With only 100 examples produced in its initial production run, Hellephant motors are like the white whales of performance crate engines. Built to be supremely powerful thanks to its monstrous three-liter Whipple supercharger and 426-cubic inches (6.9-L) of cubic displacement, just like its ancestor, the Hellephants from its first limited edition run, which sold out in only 48 hours, are just as much trophies to show off as they are functioning ICE motors.
Like the 1968 Dodge Charger chosen to accept the first Hellephant motor back at SEMA 2018, this '68 Plymouth Road Runner comes from the same all-important model year in muscle car history. With 1,000 horsepower and 950 lb-ft of torque right out of the crate, it's up to the builder to ensure the rest of the vehicle is as soundly built as the engine. Thankfully, first impressions indicate there's nothing but quality workmanship permeating every square inch of this Plymouth's exterior.
With it's magnificent blue paint job shining like a sapphire, this is the kind of restomod that demands attention not because of how ostentatious it looks, but because of how tasteful it is given the absolute mad lad of an engine under the hood. At the end of the day, this Road Runner still looks as fresh out of the factory as it did in the late 1960s. No fancy hood scoops, spoilers, or gigantic alloy wheels are necessary to keep this rig looking vicious, wicked, and downright desirable. If anything, the painted steel wheels only add to the menacing nature of the package on offer.
All this power is fed to a GM 4L80E automatic transmission with a TCI controller, which is met at the rear end via its drive shaft to a Dana 60 rear axle geared in a 2.54 ratio as per the official auction listing. Add on a triangulated quad-link rear end from Street-Lynx and Viking Performance adjustable coilover shocks and a Gerst tubular front end with power rack and pinion steering, and this is the kind of restomod that can carve canyons almost as well as it can blitz quarter-mile runs. The tasteful blue vinyl interior, complete with Dakota Digital VHX gauges, is just the gravy on top. Be on the lookout for this rig at Mecum's Kissimmee, Florida, auction this coming January.
Like the 1968 Dodge Charger chosen to accept the first Hellephant motor back at SEMA 2018, this '68 Plymouth Road Runner comes from the same all-important model year in muscle car history. With 1,000 horsepower and 950 lb-ft of torque right out of the crate, it's up to the builder to ensure the rest of the vehicle is as soundly built as the engine. Thankfully, first impressions indicate there's nothing but quality workmanship permeating every square inch of this Plymouth's exterior.
With it's magnificent blue paint job shining like a sapphire, this is the kind of restomod that demands attention not because of how ostentatious it looks, but because of how tasteful it is given the absolute mad lad of an engine under the hood. At the end of the day, this Road Runner still looks as fresh out of the factory as it did in the late 1960s. No fancy hood scoops, spoilers, or gigantic alloy wheels are necessary to keep this rig looking vicious, wicked, and downright desirable. If anything, the painted steel wheels only add to the menacing nature of the package on offer.
All this power is fed to a GM 4L80E automatic transmission with a TCI controller, which is met at the rear end via its drive shaft to a Dana 60 rear axle geared in a 2.54 ratio as per the official auction listing. Add on a triangulated quad-link rear end from Street-Lynx and Viking Performance adjustable coilover shocks and a Gerst tubular front end with power rack and pinion steering, and this is the kind of restomod that can carve canyons almost as well as it can blitz quarter-mile runs. The tasteful blue vinyl interior, complete with Dakota Digital VHX gauges, is just the gravy on top. Be on the lookout for this rig at Mecum's Kissimmee, Florida, auction this coming January.
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