Prestige Motorsports’ modern take on Chrysler’s classic muscle V8 produces 700+ hp and is totally street-driveable
by Chris Chilton
13 minutes ago
- Prestige Motorsports builds modernized versions of Chrysler’s 426 Hemi V8.
- The 572 Hemi gains 2.4 liters and offers an alloy block with matching heads.
- A forged bottom end ensures this V8 easily handles its 741-horsepower.
Ticking the Hemi V8 option on your Dodge or Plymouth order in the late 1960s was an expensive way to ensure you’d be the fastest guy in town, provided you could keep its dual carbs in tune and your tires hooked up.
It was a monster, no question, but how much more monstrous could the classic Hemi be if it was remade today with modern tech and materials? One shop in North Carolina has the answer, though it’ll cost you a pretty penny.
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Chrysler built three generations of the Hemi V8, the first coming in the early 1950s, the second in the mid-1960s, and the third arriving in the early 2000s. But Prestige Motorsports’ 572 Hemi is based on the 1966-71 426 Hemi from muscle’s golden period.
Breathing through two Carter four-barrel carbs, the 7.0-liter original was rated at 425 hp (431 PS), though some people claim it was purposely underrated for insurance and homologation purposes by recording the peak figure at 5,000rpm. In reality, it likely produced around 500 hp (507 PS) when allowed to rev toward 6,000 rpm.
Gross vs. Net Reality
However, those numbers were created under the old gross horsepower scheme where engines were dyno’d with open exhausts and no power-sapping accessories. In 1971, in preparation for a wholesale switch to more realistic net hp numbers that are broadly comparable with the figures we see on modern cars, Chrysler quoted both gross and net stats, and said the Hemi made only 350 hp (355 PS) net.
So even giving it the freedom of some extra revs it probably wouldn’t make more than 400 in today’s terms. Pretty wild for 1966, but no match for a modern supercharged Hellcat with over 700 hp (710 PS).
Prestige Motorsports
And that’s where Prestige Motorsports’ Hemi version comes in. Packing a crazy 2.4 extra liters over the already oversized original, the 9.4-liter 572 Hemi is built using parts gathered from the best suppliers available and comes with a sturdy forged bottom end to ensure it doesn’t only make 700 hp, but will keep on making it mile after mile.
Edelbrock aluminum heads come standard, providing a useful weight saving over a stock Hemi. Buyers can also swap the cast iron Indy block for an aluminum one to shave off a few more pounds.
Built To Last, Tuned To Roar
With the help of a roller-bearing cam and roller rockers, Prestige says it makes a reliable 700 hp, and in one recent video on the company’s YouTube channel shows a 572 build putting out 741 hp (751 PS) at 5,900 rpm and an epic 697 lb-ft (945 Nm) at 4,400 rpm.
While you could drop this crate engine straight into your vintage Mopar muscle car, Prestige wisely advises anyone buying one to ensure the rest of their car is up to the task first.
The Price of Bragging Rights
At around $31,000 for a full-built, dyno-tested engine, you’re looking at a big financial investment, but just imagine the fun you could have trolling modern drivers if you dropped one of these bad boys into something totally unassuming, like a four-door Plymouth Satellite with steelies.
And if you did ever get bored of 741 horses, there’s always Prestige’s bonkers forced-induction-ready Power Adder 572 Hemi with its 1,000+ hp (1,014 PS) capability waiting in the wings.
Image Prestige Motorsports/Mecum
#Boost #Liters #Pure #Hemi #Madness
