DESIGN OF CHRYSLER'S LEGENDARY HEMI ENGINE
The traditional HEMI engine is composed of a hemispherical combustion chamber with dome shaped cylinders and matching piston tops. This creates less surface area than a traditional engine which means that less heat and energy lost, and more power is produced. The current-production "HEMI" engine heads are flatter and more complex than the 1950s-'70s Hemi V8 chamber. The combustion chambers are no longer truly hemispherical. Unlike the classic Hemi, the new Hemi has part of the bowl shape filled in near the spark plugs. According to Chrysler, these filled areas aid the flow of gasses into and out of the head. And these areas make the new Hemi's shape somewhat less hemispherical than the original's.
All modern Chrysler Hemi V-8 engines use two spark plugs per cylinder for a total of 16 spark plugs to provide a faster burn. This design starts the combustion from two sides of the cylinder and burns toward the center. A faster burn generally provides more power and a more complete burn. This design includes engines built in 2003 and later, ranging from the 5.7 liter to the 6.2 liter Hellcat engine. Stellantis announced that they will discontinue this specific engine by the end of 2023 because of new emission laws and overall industry evolution. Is this the end of a legend? Time wil tell...
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