With Dodge’s upcoming reveals, the most important is the final version of the Hellcat. We know it will be officially announced during the Dodge Speed Week, in Michigan, which will happen in August, but we don't know much else about it. There have been a lot of rumors, though. Now we learned that the Hellcat engine in the last ICE-powered Muscle car might feature an exciting new upgrade, and one that's shared with the 426 Hellephant engine.

The last pushrod HEMI V-8 from Dodge

We know that the Hellcat’s story, as we know it, is coming to an end in 2023, and from 2024, the new EV Muscle car will take over. With that said, we already know enough about the last Hellcat to understand it will be one Hell of a send-off for the supercharged V-8. Dodge has already confirmed that it have the same 6.2-liter Hemi V-8 with pushrod design and a supercharger that we’ve known since the Hellcat’s introduction in 2014. After the V-8’s retirement, ICE propulsion will likely be entrusted to the new, inline-six Hurricane unit.

More powerful than the Demon

We also know that the pushrod V-8 can run on E85 from the factory. However, at this point, it is not known whether it will be actuated with a separate ECU module or if it will be a proper, flex-fuel system that would automatically tune for whatever fuel is put in it. We also know it will be more powerful than the Dodge Demon, which on 100-plus octane fuel produces 840 horsepower (626 kilowatts) at 6,300 RPM and 770 pound-feet (1,044 Nm at 4,500 RPM.

Hellephant DNA in the last Hellcat?

One rumor that was quickly put to rest was that the last Hellcat would be powered by the 426 Hemi crate engine known as the Hellephant. The engine specs coincide with the rumors of “over 850 horsepower”, since it produces 1,000 horsepower (735 kilowatts) and 950 pound-feet (1,292 Nm). However, the 426 Hemi crate engine is unable to cover federal regulations for road-going vehicles, which automatically rules it out.

But this doesn’t mean some of its hardware won’t go into the last Hellcat. While the 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 will be what the last Hellcat comes with, it is rumored to get the supercharger from the Hellephant crate engine. To put things in perspective, the standard Hellcat came with a 2.4-liter IHI supercharger that works at 11.6 pounds of boost (0.8 bar) while the Hellcat Redeye, Demon, and Super Stock get a 2.7-liter variant that makes 14.5 pounds of boost (1.0 bar).

The Hellephant comes with an even bigger, 3.0-liter supercharger. With the 2.7-liter supercharger giving the Hellcat an extra 80 to 90 horsepower versus the 2.4-liter blower, the Hellephant supercharger would easily add at least 90 more horsepower on top of the Redeye. According to Mopar Insiders, who reportedly asked their source, the power output will be 909 horsepower.

We already know that a Redeye with a Stage 1 kit produces 885 horsepower, so the figure looks believable. Moreover, the Stage 2 kit from Dodge’s Direct Connection performance program adds a 3.17-inch supercharger pulley from the 426 Hellephant, so the rumors about the 426 Hemi’s 3.0-liter blower making it into the last Hellcat are even more believable. In any case, the answer will be revealed in August when Dodge’s last ICE-powered Muscle car makes is officially unveiled.