Quote:
Originally Posted by Drover
I bet if you did a gross power rating of the new Hemi the same way the old muscle cars were rated (as opposed to the net power ratings of today), you'd get a number somewhere between 500 and 550 horsepower. Today's hemi cars can run toe-to-toe with the old ones at the drag strip despite being substantially heavier and having much taller gearing. And like AZBear says, the new cars will absolutey murder the old ones in top speed thanks in part to that taller gearing. Oh, and they will brake and handle 10 times better and get about double the fuel economy too.
EDIT: I should clarifiy that the preceding paragraph refers to the 6.1L, not the 5.7L.
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Just for the record, the old Hemi cars had a top speed of anywhere from 135 mph to 155 mph (depending on gearing), and 160+ for the Hemi Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird. Car & Driver (Nov., 1968) listed the estimated top speed of a '68 Hemi Charger at 156 mph @ 6500 rpm.
Roger Huntington mentions this in his book, "American Supercar":
"A well-tuned Street Hemi with 3.23 final drive could approach a top speed of 150 mph. This required about 6,000 rpm with stock tires. There was ample horsepower available to do it- if the tires didn't disinegrate first. Aerodynamic design was relatively non-existent by today's standards, so if it went 150 mph, it did it on brute horsepower alone. Fantastic engine."
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