American Firepower

Categories: American Classic Cars | Classic Trucks | Hot Rods & Custom Cars | Import Classic Cars

Text by Huw Evans, Images by Huw Evans and courtesy of Chrysler LLC and Legendary Motorcar Ltd.

It's hard to imagine today the impact the Hemi-powered 1957 Chryslers, DeSotos and Dodges had. But seldom has an automaker been so right on target. It was these cars that firmly established Detroit's number three as a true maker of segment-defining performance and luxury cars, leaving archrivals, including giant General Motors, to seriously rethink their product strategy at the tail end of the 1950s. If it hadn't been for these Chryslers, it's unlikely that Mopars of the 1960s and early 1970s would have become so revered on the street and dragstrip. But, like many great legends, the original Hemi V-8 and the flashy cars it powered were born into a rather bleak environment.

Development on a new generation of passenger car engine actually began in the late 1930s, in an environment still grappling with the problems of the Great Depression. To make matters worse at Chrysler, the commercially disastrous Airflow had stunted much technological development. Nevertheless, engineering had started working on a plan to replace the existing L-head six- and eight-cylinder motors that powered Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth cars at the time. Key design requirements for this new engine were that it be lighter, more compact and vastly more efficient than its predecessors. Where efficiency was concerned, cylinder head design would prove critical in achieving the design and engineering targets. Even at that time, automotive gasoline was fairly poor in quality and low in octane. As a result, carbon deposits rapidly formed on the surface of the valves and cylinders of internal combustion engines, robbing them of power