1939 Chrysler begins design work on first
HEMI®, a V-16 for fighter aircraft.
1951 Chrysler stuns automotive world with 180
hp HEMI V-8 engine.
1951 Chrysler New Yorker convertible paces Indianapolis
500 race.
1951 Saratoga first in Stock Car Class; second
overall in Carrera Pan- American road race.
1951 Briggs Cunningham chooses HEMI engines
for his le Mans race cars.
1952 A special HEMI is tested in a Kurtis Kraft
Indy roadster; it's banned by racing officials as too fast.
1953 Lee Petty's HEMI Dodge wins five NASCAR
races and finishes second in championship points.
1953 Cunningham's C-4R HEMI wins 12 Hours of
Sebring and finishes third at le Mans.
1953 A Dodge HEM I V-8 breaks 196 stock car
records at Bonneville Salt Flats.
1954 A Chrysler HEMI with four-barrel and dual
exhausts makes 235 hp.
1954 lee Petty wins Daytona Beach race in a
Chrysler HEMI.
1954 lee Petty wins NASCAR Grand National championship
driving Chrysler and Dodge HEMls.
1954 Cunningham HEMI's win Sebring again, and
take third and fifth at le Mans.
1954 Dodge Red Ram HEMI convertible paces Indy
500.
1955 Chrysler introduces the legendary 300 as
America's most powerful stock car.
1955 Chrysler 300 with dual four-barrel 331
c.i.d. HEMI is first production car to make 300hp.
1955 A Carl Kiekhaefer-prepared Chrysler 300
wins at Daytona Beach with Tim Flock driving.
1955 Chrysler bumps HEM I to 250 hp in New Yorker
and 280 hp in Imperial.
1955 Frank Mundy wins AM Championship in Kiekhaefer-prepared
Chrysler 300.
1956 DeSoto Fireflite HEMI convertible paces
Indianapolis 500.
1956 Buck Baker wins NASCAR Grand National Championship
in Chrysler 300B with 14 wins.
1956 Chrysler 300B sets World Passenger Car
speed record at Daytona Beach - 133.9 mph.
1956 Don "Big Daddy" Garlits begins
46-year winning association with Chrysler HEM Is.
1957 Chrysler 300C HEMI increased to 392 c.i.d.
and 375 hp.
1958 Last year of HEMI engine in Chrysler 300
models.
1958 Don "Big Daddy" Garlits breaks
the 170-mph barrier in his "Swamp Rat" HEMI dragster.
1959 Original Ramchargers debut "High &
Mighty" HEMI-powered C/A (altered class) '49 Plymouth to win NHRA Nationals.
1964 A.J. Foyt wins Firecracker 400 at Daytona;
Plymouth or Dodge vehicles lead every lap.
1964 Chrysler introduces the 426 c.i.d. race
HEMI into competition.
1964 Richard Petty debuts the 426 HEMI and laps
the field while winning the Daytona 500.
1964 Three HEMI-powered Plymouth cars and a
HEMI Dodge sweep Daytona 1-2-3.
1964 HEM I-powered stock cars win 26 of the
62 NASCAR Grand National races.
1964 Richard Petty captures his first of seven
driving championships with eight wins and 37 top-five finishes.
1964 Don Garlits breaks 200-mph quarter-mile
barrier in HEMI dragster -- 201.34 mph in 7.78 sec.
1964 Jim Thornton wins 1964 U.S. Nationals in
Ramcharger's "Candymatic" 426 HEMI Dodge.
1964 Jim Paschal wins NASCAR World 600 at Charlotte
Motor Speedway in HEMI-powered Plymouth.
1965 NASCAR outlaws HEMI by setting minimum
production levels for street use.
1965 Bob Summers sets present 409.227 mph Land
Speed Record in "Goldenrod" using four HEM's in tandem.
1965 Shirley Shahan becomes first female to
win major NHRA event driving a HEMI Plymouth.
1966 Chrysler builds the "Street HEMI"
and returns to NASCAR racing.
1966 Richard Petty again wins Daytona 500 in
his HEMI Plymouth Belvedere.
1966 HEM I Dodge Charger wins the NASCAR Championship,
Plymouth is second.
1966 Norm Nelson wins USAC stock car championship
with seven wins in a HEMI Plymouth.
1967 Richard Petty wins an incredible 27 Grand
National races in HEMI Plymouth; 10 in a row.
1967 Richard Petty wins his second NASCAR championship
in his HEMI Plymouth.
1967 Don White's Charger gives HEMI cars second
USAC championship in a row.
1968 Sox and Martin win three major AHRA events;
Ronnie Sox named AHRA Driver of the Year.
1968 Dodge and Plymouth produce a limited number
of 426 HEMI Super Stock Darts and Barracudas.
1968 Road Runner, first budget muscle car, is
introduced by Plymouth; available with 426 HEMI option.
1969 Dodge introduces Charger 500 HEMI, which
wins 22 NASCAR races.
1969 The "winged" 1969 Dodge Charger
Daytona with HEMI power reigns over NASCAR super speedways.
1970 Buddy Baker is the first to break 200 mph
on a closed course in a HEMI Dodge Charger Daytona stock car.
1970 Bobby Isaac sets a closed course speed
record of 201.104 mph in a Dodge Charger Daytona after winning the NASCAR
championship.
1970 Sox and Martin HEM! Plymouth vehicles win
17 major championships and are runners-up in all other major events.
1971 Bobby Isaac breaks 28 records at Bonneville
in a Dodge Charger Daytona; top speed is 217.368 mph.
1971 Richard Petty wins his third NASCAR Grand
National Championship in a HEMI Road Runner.
1971 Don Garlits introduces HEM I-powered rear
engine dragster at NHRA Winter Nationals.
1971 Sox and Martin win six of eight NHRA events;
they represent drag racing at a presidential reception.
1991 AI Teague sets 409.986-mph wheel-driven
Land Speed Record in the Supercharged class with single HEMI.
2003 5.7-liter HEMI develops up to 345 hp (257
kW) at 5,400 rpm and 375 lb.-ft. (508 N*m) of torque at 4,200 rpm.
2003 5.7 -liter HEMI in Ram 2500/3500 series
trucks delivers best-in-class power, acceleration and towing capacity.
2003 5.7-liter HEMI is 56 Ibs. lighter, has
41 percent more power and 12 percent more torque than the 5.9 liter Magnum
wedge head engine it replaces.
2003 5.7-liter HEMI is the first Chrysler production
gasoline engine with electronic throttle control or "Drive-by-Wire."
2003 The 5.7 -liter HEMI meets all federal emissions
standards, delivers 8-10 percent better economy that the engine it replaces.
2003 5.7-liter HEMI is the first Chrysler production
engine to use two spark plugs per cylinder.
2003 The new HEMI is named one of Ward's "10
Best Engines."
2004 The Ram 1500 and all-new Dodge Durango
are available with 5.7-liter HEMI.
2004 The 5.7 -liter HEMI is named one of Ward's
10Best Engines for the second year in a row.
2005 After nearly 50 years, the HEMI engine
returns to a Chrysler brand passenger vehicle in the new Chrysler 300C and,
after nearly 30 years, to a Dodge brand passenger vehicle in the Dodge Magnum
R/T, fitted with the 5.7- liter HEMI V-8.
2005 HEMI-powered Chrysler 300C and Dodge Magnum
R/T produce 340 hp (254 kW) at 5,000 rpm and 390 lb.-ft. (525 N*m) at 4,000
rpm.
2005 Chrysler 300C and Dodge Magnum R/T are
the first modern, production North American vehicles to feature cylinder
deactivation-the Chrysler Group Multi-Displacement System (MDS) turns off
four cylinders in the 5.7 -liter HEMI engine when V-8 power is not needed
for up to a 2O-percent fuel savings.
2005 The Street and Racing Technology (SRT)
team develops a 6.1-liter version of the HEM I to power future Chrysler
Group SRT8 models - the 425 hp engine is the highest-rated specific-output
naturally-aspirated V-8 ever offered by the Chrysler Group. Its 69.8 horsepower-per-liter
rating exceeds even that of the legendary 1966 "Street HEMI."
Torque is rated at 425 hp (317kW) at 6,000 rpm 420 lb.-ft. (596 N*m) at
4,800 rpm.
2005 The 6.IL HEMI engine has more displacement
with larger cylinder bores compared to the 5.7-liter.
2005 The compression ratio was boosted from
9.6:1 to 10.3:1 for more energy in the combustion process.
2005 Engine breathing in the 6.1-liter was increased
with new high-flow cylinder heads, a specially designed intake manifold
and exhaust "headers" with individual tubes encased in a stainless-steel
shell. Exhaust is routed through a 2.75-inch exhaust system.
2005 A unique camshaft profile maximizes power
in the 6.1-liter HEMI.
2005 The Chrysler 300C SRT8 is the first two
SRT8 products announced-both packing the new 6.1-liter HEMI engine.
2005 For the first time ever, a HEMI is available
in a Jeep® -- the all- new Jeep Grand Cherokee is available with 5.7
-liter HEMI.
2005 MDS is standard equipment with the HEMI
in Jeep Grand Cherokee - the first time cylinder deactivation is offered
in a sport utility vehicle.
2005 The 5.7 -liter HEMI is named one of Ward's
"10 Best Engines" for the third year in a row.
2005 The One-millionth modern HEMI engine roars
off the assembly line.
2006 The all-new Dodge Charger R/T powers its
way back to the streets and racetracks across America with 5.7-liter HEMI,
paying homage to the muscle cars of the '60s, and adding 21st century performance
and functionality.
2006 The Dodge Charger Daytona includes a unique
high-performance exhaust and induction system to allow the 5.7 -liter HEMI
to produce 350 hp (261 kW) with a distinctive throaty exhaust tone.
2006 Chrysler Group is the first to offer cylinder
deactivation in a pickup truck - MDS made standard equipment with the HEMI
5.7 -liter engine.
2006 MDS is added to HEMI-powered Dodge Durango.
2006 Chrysler Group MDS is standard equipment
on Chrysler 300C and Dodge Magnum R/T, Charger R/T, and it is standard on
5.7-liter HEMI-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Commander, Dodge Durango
and Ram 1500.
Source: Chrysler Group.