This happened so quickly that we just caught up. Mopar opened pre-orders on the 7.0-liter Hellephant Hemi box engine on April 26, which is Hemi Day. According to Allpar, hubbub on social media not long after that day claimed that Mopar had been through all his Hellephant shares. When Allpar asked Fiat Chrysler for clarification, a spokesperson emailed: "Given the high demand and the hand-built, time-consuming construction process, we have pre-ordered the 426 Hellephant Supercharged HEMI box engine. Visit .com to receive future information and updates on the & # 39; Hellephant & # 39; engine. "
Nobody knows for sure how many engines Mopar has sold. Allpar wrote: "Industry insiders believe that Mopar can be around 100", but reiterated that it is a gamble.
The engine and the ordering process have their peculiarities. Mopar Insiders explained that Tool Engineering International helped create the 426 cubic inch block and that the Hellephant engine "shares nothing but displacement with the rumors of upcoming 7.0-liter 426 Hemi V8." On the Hellcat.org forum a poster wrote that the engines "can only be sold through a dealer and that dealers can only order 1 engine per week."
The Hellephant also does not come with Mopar & # 39; s three-year, 100,000-mile warranty. During a press briefing last October, FCA officials said they were not sure about offering any guarantee. Based on the fact that the engine has a part number that starts with the letter P, there is a little protection, but it is a 90-day limited warranty that covers "defects in materials or wokmanship" and only applies to engines that cannot be used in the competition.
For those who have not had the chance to lose $ 29,995 for 1,000 horsepower and 950 pounds of torque, the best bet is to hope for the return of the pachyderm from Apollyon. Motor1 wrote that "rumors indicate … another limited run planned for next year due to overwhelming demand." That is a thin thread for hanging a Hellephant, but it is true bupkis.