Way Before the Hurricane, Chrysler Australia Flexed HEMI<sup>®</sup> Six Muscle

Way Before the Hurricane, Chrysler Australia Flexed HEMI® Six Muscle

By DodgeGarage  Heritage 1 min read
Dodge Classics

The Dodge Charger’s transition to electric power has stirred controversy among fans, particularly regarding the decision to replace the iconic V8 engine with a twin-turbocharged inline-six. Traditionalists argue that a six-cylinder engine lacks the muscle associated with the Charger brand. However, history reveals a precedent for inline-six engines in Mopar® muscle cars, notably in Australian variants of the Chrysler Valiant, where performance-oriented “HEMI® Six” engines were celebrated. Despite not being traditional HEMI engines, these inline-sixes delivered impressive power and performance, rivaling V8 counterparts of the time. The Australian Charger R/T, equipped with a “Six Pack” triple-carbureted HEMI Six, achieved notable performance on and off the track. While the era of HEMI Six engines eventually ended with the cessation of Chrysler’s Australian operations in 1980, their legacy demonstrates that Mopar muscle can be defined by more than just V8 power.

Photo credit: Evan McCausland | Hagerty.com

Disclaimer: This editorial article contains information and links to a third-party site. We can’t guarantee 100% accuracy (we do our best) or vouch for their other site content (nobody’s perfect) outside of this link. Let us know in the comments if there’s something you think we need to review.

3 Comments

XS29L

I would chose the 340 V8 they offered,that was the ticket!!

You see Stellantis,back then you had a choice of a Straight 6 or 318,340 and 360 V8’s over the years…Thats what people want with the 2024…2025 Charger CHOICE…sure dystopian electric(face it thats what it is,you know it) 6 cyl sounds like a very potent engine but a 6!! AND should have a choice of V8’s…

I wont buy electric(EVER) nor 6 cyl…Sorry!

Ajakeski

If I wanted to Australian or europeon, I would live there.

Ramojan

The Australian Hemi 6 engine was based on a design exercise by Chrysler in the US when they were looking at how light they could build engines. It was in the wake of the LA lightweighting work. The idea was for a pickup engine, but as far as I can see there was no cylinder head built in the US. When Chrysler Australia needed more local content in the Valiant to enable them to match the price of the Holden and Falcon models, both of which were advantaged by their 98% local content and therefore a favourable sales tax rate, superseding the Slant 6 with a more powerful, much lighter and more adaptable local engine was desirable.
The ‘Hemi’ head was achieved with all the valves in line, but canted longitudinally to give a slight hemi shape.
And the engine was still being produced after the demise of Chrysler Australia, Mitsubishi buying the plant lock, stock and engine assembly line and continuing to make Valiants for a couple more years.