First designed in 1963 and released in "street form" for the 1966 model year, the 426 Hemi was known as the "King Kong" ultimate Mopar powerplant of the day. The huge cylinder heads with hemispherical combustion chambers was the design method Chrysler engineers chose to provide tremendous breathing capacities throughout all RPM ranges.

By being fitted with colossal 2.25-inch intake and 1.94-inch exhaust valves, the heads were extremely free-flowing and put this powerplant in the winner's circle in all-out competition. The street version was equipped with 10.25:1 compression ratio and fitted with a pair of inline Carter AFB four barrel carburetors, delivering 425 horsepower with 490 foot pounds of torque, delivering stop-light to stop-light serious performance that could smoke the tires in an instant!

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