If you have a pre-1976 project car and a bank account that needs emptying, your Christmas list just got a lot shorter. One of the most anticipated V8 thrill rides of 2025 is officially available. The Hellephant A30 426 Supercharged Crate HEMI. Direct Connection is asking for a cool $34,995 for this 7.0-liter colossus, though they’ve cheekily decided that a $2,325 “control kit” is also mandatory if you actually want the thing to, you know, work.
This Mopar-branded kit includes everything from a control module and wiring harness to an accelerator pedal. Because apparently, when you spend thirty-five grand on an engine, the pedal is an optional luxury. The A30 426 pays homage to the legendary second-generation “Elephant” 426 HEMI, but while the original used heavy cast iron, this modern beast is crafted entirely from aluminum.
Inside the crate, you’ll find a 3.0-liter IHI twin-screw supercharger capable of pushing the engine to 6,800 RPM. This setup delivers a staggering 1,000 HP and 950 lb-ft of torque. To handle that kind of violence, Direct Connection stuffed it with 4340 forged steel crankshafts, H-beam rods, and forged aluminum pistons. There’s even a lightweight billet supercharger tensioner to reduce parasitic mass, because when you have 1,000 horses, every little bit of efficiency helps.
The engine made its grand reappearance in November 2025 at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, alongside the 354 Supercharged HEMI Drag Pak, a motor that claims 630 HP for the NHRA but actually pumps out well over 1,000 mechanical horses.
But the HEMI news doesn’t stop with crate engines. The 2026 Ram 1500 TRX is lurking just around the corner, set to debut on January 1, 2026. With Ford’s Raptor R currently extracting 720 hp from its Predator V8, the industry expects Ram to strike back with even more fire. Will the new TRX finally offer 37-inch tires to crawl over obstacles, or will it stick to the high-speed 35s?
