Tag Archives: Engine

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HEMI Fever Returns: Direct Connection Unleashes 1,000-HP Hellephant and Drag Pak Crate Engines at SEMA 2025

There’s something in the air at the 2025 SEMA Show, and it smells distinctly of premium unleaded and old-school American horsepower. Direct Connection — Dodge’s performance parts arm and the spiritual heir to the Street and Racing Technology (SRT) legacy — is back in full force, doubling down on supercharged HEMI fury with the relaunch of two monstrous crate engines: the Hellephant A30 426 Supercharged Crate HEMI and the 354 Supercharged Drag Pak HEMI.

Both engines, each a love letter to unapologetic internal combustion, headline Mopar’s presence at this year’s show. The message is clear: even in an era of EVs and hybrids, Direct Connection isn’t ready to hand over the keys to the horsepower kingdom just yet.

The Return of the Hellephant

When the original Hellephant stormed onto the scene at SEMA in 2018, it was an instant legend — a 1,000-hp, 426-cubic-inch beast that made Hellcats look tame. Now, seven years later, the Hellephant returns with a new aluminum GEN III HEMI block, a forged-steel rotating assembly, and an upgraded IHI 3.0L twin-screw supercharger that feeds a relentless 950 lb-ft of torque.

Direct Connection didn’t just dust off the old blueprints. The new A30 version packs refined internals — from a 4340 forged crankshaft with gun-drilled mains to H-beam rods with ARP 2000 bolts — all tuned to withstand the kind of abuse that only four-figure horsepower can deliver.

It’s the sort of crate motor that could transform a vintage Challenger, a tube-chassis drag car, or even a pre-’76 street monster into a tire-vaporizing spectacle. At $34,995, the Hellephant remains one of the most outrageous power-per-dollar propositions in the business — a rolling middle finger to subtlety.

The 354 Supercharged Drag Pak HEMI: Track Royalty for Sale

If the Hellephant is the street king, the 354 Supercharged Drag Pak HEMI is the strip assassin. This 354-cubic-inch engine is a crate version of the same powerplant that will propel the upcoming 2026 Dodge Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak, Dodge’s latest purpose-built quarter-mile machine.

Built for outright domination, the Drag Pak mill swaps the IHI blower for a Whipple 3.0L twin-screw supercharger and comes armed with a race billet crankshaft machined from 4330V Timken steel, forged H-beam rods with ARP L19 fasteners, and a full arsenal of race-spec hardware — from Jesel valvetrain components to a PAC dual-spring setup.

This isn’t some over-the-counter curiosity; it’s a championship-winning setup, tuned for high-octane VP C16 fuel and track-bred precision. The $63,995 price tag might sting, but for drag racers seeking factory-backed reliability and engineering pedigree, it’s a ticket straight to the winner’s circle.

SRT Performance Division Reignited

The return of these engines also marks a bigger strategic move: Direct Connection now operates under the newly revived SRT Performance Division. That’s right — SRT is officially back. The group will oversee Dodge’s and Ram’s high-performance efforts, from NHRA drag racing to Ram’s impending comeback to the NASCAR Truck Series in 2026.

Chad Seymour, head of Direct Connection’s crate engine program, put it best:

“The desire for HEMI engine power is stronger than ever. Direct Connection is keeping the pedal down.”

And it’s not just talk. Between the all-new Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak and this pair of thunderous crate motors, the brand’s commitment to keeping big-displacement muscle alive feels more genuine than ever.

Order Fast, Burn Rubber Later

Ordering for both engines opens November 4, right from the Mopar SEMA exhibit floor — a bold, retro move that feels perfectly at home in a world where enthusiasts still crave horsepower you can feel in your chest.

The Hellephant A30 426 ships later this month, while the 354 Drag Pak HEMI will be built to order with a four- to six-week delivery window. Both engines can be paired with Direct Connection’s updated plug-and-play installation kits, ensuring that even the wildest restomod projects can harness these factory-engineered monsters.

In an automotive landscape increasingly obsessed with kilowatts and range figures, Direct Connection’s new crate lineup feels like a celebration — a thunderous reminder of why we fell in love with cars in the first place.

At SEMA 2025, Dodge didn’t whisper nostalgia. It roared it, supercharged and unapologetic.

Because no matter how the industry evolves, there will always be room — and demand — for a thousand-horsepower HEMI.

Source: Stellantis

News

Petrol’s Revenge: Omoda & Jaecoo Prove Fire Still Has a Future

In a world obsessed with volts and charging times, it’s oddly refreshing to hear someone talk about… combustion. Real, honest-to-goodness explosions. The sort that make pistons dance and petrolheads smile. And yet, at the 2025 International User Summit, Omoda & Jaecoo—yes, the same Chery Group duo waving the EV flag across Europe—stood up and said, “Actually, there’s still life (and efficiency) left in the old fire-breathing engine.”

The headline? A 48 percent thermal efficiency internal combustion engine. That’s not just a tidy number—it’s a proper engineering mic drop. To put it in perspective, most modern engines hover around 38–45 percent. Each percentage point gained is like finding another 2.5 percent in your wallet every time you fill up. It’s the kind of leap that makes both accountants and climate activists quietly nod in approval.

But what’s the point, you ask, when electric cars are stealing all the headlines? Well, Omoda & Jaecoo aren’t blind to the plug-in revolution. They’re just being pragmatic. The future, they argue, isn’t purely electric—it’s intelligently hybrid. And for the next decade or so, squeezing every drop of efficiency from petrol might actually be the smartest route to lower global energy consumption.

Under the bonnet, Chery’s engineers have gone full mad scientist. We’re talking about an ultra-high 26:1 compression ratio, triple-link hyperbolic mechanisms (yes, that’s a real thing), 35 percent exhaust gas recirculation, and a thermal insulation coating that practically hugs every joule of energy like it’s precious. The result? Less wasted heat, more motion, fewer emissions—and a combustion cycle that borders on witchcraft.

It’s all part of the brand’s grander plan: an evolution of their SHS (Super Hybrid System), which already boasts a 44.5 percent thermal efficiency thanks to a 1.5 TDGI Miller-cycle engine paired with twin electric motors and an intelligent DHT transmission. In the real world, that setup sips just 6 liters per 100 kilometers, while still giving you up to 56 miles (90 km) of silent, electric-only driving.

And it’s not just efficient—it’s clever. The SHS automatically decides whether to run in electric, hybrid, or engine-only mode depending on how you’re driving, what the terrain’s doing, and whether you’re late for work. The battery? Built to survive heatwaves, floods, and even collisions—cutting power in just two milliseconds if things go sideways. Oh, and there’s a V2L function that can power your campsite espresso machine or DJ setup with 3.3 kilowatts of juice.

In a market racing toward total electrification, Omoda & Jaecoo’s approach feels almost rebellious—an elegant middle finger to the idea that combustion is dead. Maybe the future doesn’t belong only to batteries after all. Maybe it belongs to those clever enough to make fire burn cleaner, hotter, and smarter.

Because in the end, sustainability isn’t just about plugging in. Sometimes, it’s about lighting up—with style.

Source: Omoda & Jaecoo

News

Nissan’s Cold Spray Wizardry: Reinventing the Humble Valve Seat

You’d think the words “valve seat innovation” wouldn’t exactly set petrolheads’ pulses racing. But here’s the thing: Nissan just pulled off a world-first in engine design with something called cold spray technology, and it’s not just clever engineering—it’s a bit of automotive wizardry that could change how hybrid engines are built.

Let’s rewind. The star of the show is Nissan’s new 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder, codename ZR15DDTe. No, it won’t power your dream Skyline GT-R. Instead, it sits quietly in the background of Nissan’s latest e-POWER hybrid system, generating electricity while the actual driving is done by the electric motor. Think of it less as a rev-happy engine and more as a power plant—designed for efficiency, smoothness, and that weirdly serene EV-like glide.

So where does the trickery come in? Enter the valve seats. In a normal engine, these are dull little metal rings press-fitted into the cylinder head. They seal the valves, deal with heat, and… that’s about it. But they’re also a design headache, limiting how air can be funnelled into the combustion chamber.

Nissan’s engineers decided they’d had enough of being held back by 20th-century hardware. So, instead of fitting seats, they’ve sprayed them in. Literally. Using cold spray technology, metal powders are fired at supersonic speed onto the cylinder head, forming a robust layer without melting the aluminum underneath. The result? A seamless, high-conductivity surface that allows Nissan to shape the intake ports exactly as they like—no compromises, no clunky inserts.

The payoff is impressive: this compact engine achieves a thermal efficiency of 42%—a figure normally reserved for cutting-edge Formula 1 units and high-end diesels. That’s thanks to Nissan’s proprietary STARC 2 concept, which uses that perfectly sculpted intake port to generate a strong tumble flow (engineer-speak for “air whipping around like a tornado in the cylinder”), stabilising combustion and squeezing every last joule of energy out of each drop of petrol.

It’s a geeky solution to a geeky problem, but the result is less heat, better cooling, more durability, and ultimately more efficiency. And because this engine doesn’t actually drive the wheels—it just generates electricity—the gains are felt in smoother, quieter, more economical driving.

The first production car to get this clever setup? The Nissan Qashqai, now rolling off the Sunderland line with the new e-POWER system under its skin. From there, it’s heading to North America in the next-gen Rogue, and even Japan in the upcoming Elgrand minivan. Not exactly poster cars, but that’s the point. This is innovation that makes everyday family crossovers feel like EVs—without the charging faff.

And the cherry on top? Nissan’s made the whole e-POWER unit more compact by bundling the motor, generator, inverter, reducer, and increaser (yes, that’s a real thing) into a single 5-in-1 powertrain unit. It’s lighter, more efficient, and quieter. Which means the school run in a Qashqai just got a little more… futuristic.

So, no, you won’t see enthusiasts queuing up at Cars & Coffee to talk about “supersonically sprayed cobalt-free copper valve seats.” But behind the jargon, Nissan’s pulled off a rare thing: taking an unloved bit of engine hardware and turning it into a genuine breakthrough.

The future of hybrids, it seems, isn’t just batteries and software. Sometimes, it’s about spraying metal at the speed of sound.

Source: Nissan