Iconic Dodge Engines & Drivetrains

Short Answer

Dodge is best known for the HEMI V-8, named after its hemispherical combustion chambers: the Red Ram of 1952, the 426 Street HEMI of 1966, the modern HEMIs from 2003 and the supercharged 6.2-litre Hellcat family, which reached 1,025 hp in the Demon 170. Alongside it came the Slant Six, turbocharged four-cylinders, the Viper’s V-10 and, since 2025, the twin-turbo 3.0-litre SIXPACK straight six. Today’s Charger also comes as the electric Charger Daytona, and every Charger has all-wheel drive.

Which engines is Dodge known for?

Above all the HEMI V-8. Chrysler introduced it in 1951, Dodge’s version arrived late in 1952 as the Red Ram, and the name has run through the 426 of the 1960s, the modern HEMIs that returned in 2003 and the supercharged Hellcat engines. Two other engines define their eras: the Viper’s V-10, built from 1992 until production ended in August 2017, and the twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight six that Dodge calls SIXPACK, in the Charger since 2025.

What is a HEMI engine?

A HEMI has hemispherical combustion chambers with the spark plug almost in the centre, and that shape gives the engine its name. Chrysler introduced its HEMI V-8 in 1951, and Dodge’s Red Ram HEMI, its first V-8, gave 140 hp in 1953. The 426 HEMI took the first three places in the Daytona 500 on 23 February 1964, and the 1966 ‘street HEMI’, with two four-barrel carburettors, was rated at 425 hp and 490 lb-ft; about 10,000 were built for the road before it ended in 1971. Otto compares engine layouts in engine designs explained.

What other engines powered classic Dodges?

Dodge’s first six-cylinder engine came in 1928. The Slant Six replaced the old L-head six in 1960 and was built until 1983. The 273 cubic-inch V-8 of 1964 was Dodge’s first V-8 in a compact, the Wedge Head 426 arrived in 1963 and the 440 in 1966, and in 1969 the 440 Six-Pack used three two-barrel carburettors. Earlier still, in 1929, Dodge had introduced what it calls the industry’s first downdraft carburettor.

What were Dodge’s turbocharged four-cylinder engines?

From the 1980s Dodge also built turbocharged four-cylinders. The 1984 Daytona Turbo Z’s 2.2-litre gave 142 hp, the Turbo II of the 1987 Shelby Z 174 hp, and the intercooled Turbo III of the 1991 Spirit R/T 224 hp, with a five-speed Getrag gearbox. In 2003 the Neon SRT-4’s intercooled turbocharged 2.4-litre gave 215 hp, raised to 230 hp in 2004. Otto explains turbocharging in turbocharger vs supercharger.

What was special about the Viper V-10?

The Viper went on sale in 1992 with an 8.0-litre V-10 of 400 hp and a six-speed manual gearbox. The engine gave 450 hp in the 1996 GTS and grew to 8.3 litres and 500 hp in 2003, and the final all-aluminium 8.4-litre version of 2017 gave 645 hp and 600 lb-ft, which Dodge says was the most torque of any naturally aspirated sports-car engine. At Conner Avenue in Detroit each V-10 was hand-built in six stations and, from 2012, dyno-tested before it was fitted.

How did the modern HEMI develop?

The HEMI returned to production vehicles in 2003. The 2004 Magnum R/T was among the first North American volume vehicles with the 5.7-litre HEMI and cylinder deactivation, and Dodge said the Multi-Displacement System on the 2006 Charger’s 340-hp HEMI improved fuel economy by 20 per cent. The 6.1-litre SRT8 engine gave 425 hp from 2006, and the 392 cubic-inch 6.4-litre HEMI arrived in 2011 with 470 hp, rising to 485 hp in the 2015 Challenger Scat Pack. The 5.7-litre and the 6.4-litre still power the 2027 Durango GT HEMI AWD and R/T 392.

How does the Hellcat engine work?

The Hellcat is a supercharged 6.2-litre HEMI V-8 that Dodge says is 91 per cent new compared with the 392. It has a cast-iron block, a forged-steel crankshaft, forged pistons and sodium-cooled exhaust valves, and a 2,380 cc twin-screw supercharger with integral charge coolers, limited to 11.6 psi of boost. In the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat it gave 707 hp and 650 lb-ft; a red key unlocked full output and a black key limited it to 500 hp. For heat, Dodge fitted a high-capacity oil-to-air cooler and a low-temperature charge-air circuit designed to keep intake air below 60°C, and says the engine showed no loss of power after 20 minutes of hard road-course driving at 37°C.

How did the Demon and Redeye engines differ?

The 2018 Demon raised supercharger displacement from 2.4 to 2.7 litres, boost from 11.6 to 14.5 psi and the rev limit from 6,200 to 6,500 rpm, and added the SRT Power Chiller to cool the charge air; it gave 840 hp on high-octane fuel. The 2019 Hellcat Redeye shared 25 major components with the Demon and gave 797 hp and 707 lb-ft. The Demon 170 of 2023 went furthest: 1,025 hp on E85 ethanol and 900 hp on E10 petrol, with 21.3 psi of boost. In the Durango SRT Hellcat the supercharged 6.2-litre gives 710 hp at 6,100 rpm and 645 lb-ft.

What is the Pentastar V-6?

The 3.6-litre Pentastar V-6 arrived across Dodge’s range in 2011, with 292 hp in the Charger and 305 hp in the Challenger. In 2026 Dodge’s Oman website lists it for the Durango, with 295 hp and 260 lb-ft through an eight-speed automatic.

What is the SIXPACK engine?

SIXPACK is Dodge’s name for Stellantis’ Hurricane, a 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight six built at the Saltillo Engine Plant in Mexico. It has a deep-skirt cast-aluminium block, cylinder bores coated by Plasma Transfer Wire Arc spraying instead of iron liners, two turbochargers each feeding three cylinders and 350-bar direct injection, and Stellantis said at launch that it was up to 15 per cent more efficient than larger engines. In the 2026 Charger the standard-output version gives 420 hp and 468 lb-ft and the high-output version 550 hp and 531 lb-ft at up to 30 psi, while the 2027 Super Bee’s gives 600 hp, or 200 hp per litre. The Scat Pack brought turbocharging back to the Charger for the first time since the 1980s.

How does the electric Charger Daytona work?

The Charger Daytona uses a 400-volt system with front and rear electric drive modules of 335 hp (250 kW) each, every module combining an inverter, gearbox and motor, and a 100.5 kWh battery that can discharge at up to 550 kW. The Daytona Scat Pack has 670 hp and the Daytona R/T 496 hp, and PowerShot adds 40 hp for 10 seconds. The front module can disconnect at the wheel ends, and the rear has a mechanical limited-slip differential. The Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, which Dodge calls a world first, uses two passive radiators to give the car a muscle-car sound. The 2022 concept previewed an 800-volt ‘Banshee’ system and an eRupt multi-speed transmission, but the production car uses 400 volts. Otto compares electric and hybrid drives in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric cars.

What powered the Hornet?

The Hornet GT used the 2.0-litre turbocharged Hurricane4 four-cylinder with 268 hp and a nine-speed automatic. The Hornet R/T plug-in hybrid combined a 1.3-litre turbo engine driving the front axle with a 90 kW electric motor at the rear and a 15.5 kWh battery, for 288 hp. Hornet production has ended.

Which gearboxes has Dodge used?

Dodge introduced what it calls an industry-first automatic overdrive in 1934, Fluid Drive in 1941, the PowerFlite automatic in 1954 and an industry-first push-button transmission in 1956. The 1970 Challenger offered a TorqueFlite automatic or a three- or four-speed manual with an optional Hurst pistol-grip shifter, and the first Caravan a three-speed TorqueFlite transaxle. Modern Dodges use eight-speed TorqueFlite automatics, such as the 8HP90 in the Demon 170 and Hellcat Redeye and the 8HP95 in the Durango SRT Hellcat; the 2015 Hellcat could also have a Viper-sourced six-speed manual, and the 2009 Challenger SRT8 offered a Tremec TR-6060 six-speed manual.

How do Dodge’s drive systems work?

The Charger was rear-wheel drive until 1978 and again from 2006, and big-block 1970 Challengers could have a Dana 60 limited-slip differential. The 2009 Charger introduced all-wheel drive with an active transfer case and front-axle disconnect. The 2018 Demon was the first factory-production car with a TransBrake, which holds the car on the line for a higher-rpm launch. Every 2026 Charger has all-wheel drive, and the SIXPACK Scat Pack and R/T can send 100 per cent of torque to the rear wheels at the push of a button.

What should a Dodge owner in Oman keep in mind?

Cooling matters on a supercharged Dodge. Dodge engineered the Hellcat’s oil and charge-air cooling to cope with sustained hard driving at 37°C, and Omani summer days can be hotter than that, so those systems are worth keeping in good order. High voltage is a separate matter: the Charger Daytona and the Hornet R/T carry high-voltage systems, and their components must never be touched or worked on by the owner; that work is for trained technicians only. Dodge publishes no list of typical faults that Otto could find, so a symptom is a reason to have the car inspected, not to guess at the cause. Service intervals come from Dodge’s schedule for the specific model and year, adjusted for heat and how the car is driven. AutoTronix PERFORMANCE looks after Dodge SRT models, beginning with an inspection, and offers performance maintenance, mechanical assessment and the Performance Vehicle Health Report.

Common Questions

• What does HEMI mean? It refers to the engine’s hemispherical combustion chambers, with the spark plug almost in the centre. Chrysler introduced the HEMI V-8 in 1951, and Dodge’s first, the Red Ram, arrived late in 1952.
• Why did the Hellcat come with two keys? The 2015 Hellcat came with a red key that unlocks full output and a black key that limits it to 500 hp.
• Is the SIXPACK engine the same as the Hurricane? Yes. SIXPACK is Dodge’s own badge for Stellantis’ Hurricane twin-turbo six, which Dodge began fitting to the Charger in 2025.
• Does Dodge still offer a V-8? Yes, in the Durango: the 2027 range uses 5.7-litre and 6.4-litre HEMI V-8 engines and the 710-hp supercharged Hellcat V-8, and Dodge’s Oman website lists the Durango with HEMI V-8 engines and a V-6. The current Charger uses the SIXPACK six or electric drive.

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