The Hemi V8 Could Come Back From The Dead This Summer

Automotive mega-conglomerate Stellantis has spent the last few years steadily dropping the legendary Hemi V8 engine from its suite of American brands – Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Chrysler – as it attempts to make them all cleaner and greener.

That decision, though, hasn’t been met with universal praise from enthusiasts or North American Stellantis employees, especially as electric car takeup has been slower than anyone expected. The Hemi’s withdrawal was apparently spurred on by now-ousted CEO Carlos Tavares, and ever since he left his post in December, rumours have swirled that the mighty motor could return.

Those rumours are now gathering pace, with Mopar Insiders reporting that Stellantis is now targeting an August production restart for the Hemi.

The Hemi name, which refers to the original’s hemispherical combustion chambers, first appeared in 1951, and is strongly associated with Chrysler’s portfolio of brands, which were folded into Stellantis in 2021 when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merged with the French PSA group.

Although the name took an extended break during the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, an all-new Hemi arrived in 2003, and it’s been different evolutions of this engine that have powered various cars since then, including countless versions of the reborn Dodge Charger and Challenger, Ram pickups, and Jeep SUVs.

However, the engine was very much on its last legs by last year, only living on in naturally aspirated guise in the Jeep Wrangler 392 and in supercharged form in the Dodge Durango Hellcat.

It seems more and more likely, though, that a return is on the cards. Mopar Insiders reckons that the 5.7-litre, 6.4-litre and 6.2-litre supercharged versions will all come back online in August, and that an even bigger-capacity Hemi could arrive later down the line.

As for what cars they’ll appear in, various Jeeps and Ram trucks feel like dead certs, but the new Dodge Charger is more of a question mark – it’s been engineered to accommodate either an electric powertrain or Stellantis’ new Hurricane twin-turbo straight-six, and would likely take a bit more work to cram a Hemi into its engine bay. Our fingers are crossed, though.