Dodge has officially confirmed what rumor mills had been anticipating for months: the Hemi V8 engine is returning to the brand’s vehicle lineup, bringing back the iconic powerplant that had been essentially absent from new Dodge products following the transition to the electric Charger Daytona and turbocharged alternatives. The confirmation ends considerable uncertainty among Dodge loyalists who had been watching with concern as the brand’s traditional V8 identity appeared to be fading. The return of the Hemi is being positioned by the company as a response to customer demand and market realities that made electrification-only positioning impractical in the current environment.
The details of which vehicles will receive the returning Hemi, what displacement and power output will be offered, and what the pricing implications will be are still being revealed in stages. The announcement itself has generated enormous enthusiasm from the Dodge enthusiast community, which has been one of the most vocal and organized customer bases in the automotive industry in expressing its opposition to the departure from traditional V8 power. Whatever the specifics ultimately look like, the confirmation of the Hemi’s return represents one of the most significant product reversals in recent automotive history.
The car companies & writers of these articles just don’t get it. These cars, & camaros & mustangs, are not supposed to be JUST expensive high performance muscle car versions! In fact, back in the day, few were sold with the hi po motors! Most of the millions sold were AFFORDABLE regular gas base v8s & sixes with not that many options ordered – to keep the price of the car & insurance down. Very few came with cruise control, & p/w were not even available on ’65-’70 mustangs! Even a base $4300 ’73 trans am had no radio!, no hood bird , no p/w & no a/c! A base firebird formula did not even have p/s or p/b. That’s why i saw all the above cars all over the place back in the day. These days, i can go days or even weeks b4 i see even ONE modern camaro, stang or challenger!