MOPAR 1,000-hp crate engine generating 950 pound-feet of torque

Some 2,200 years after Hannibal crossed the Alps to invade Italy using an army of African war elephants, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Mopar brand is unleashing the Hellephant — a giant, supercharged 1,000-hp crate engine it intends to sell next year and is capable of generating 950 pound-feet of torque.

The anniversary may be accidental, but the power is not. The Hellephant represents a 41 percent power boost over the 707-hp Hellcrate 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 crate engine Mopar introduced just a year ago.

The brand’s latest behemoth-in-a-box harks back to Mopar’s 426 Hemi engine, which debuted in 1964 and was known as the Elephant engine because of its size and power. The Elephant racing engine boasted about half the power and torque ratings of the crate engine Mopar revealed Tuesday at the 2018 SEMA show in Las Vegas.