Hemi. The very word conjures images of raw power, speed, and noise. So named for its hemispherical-shaped combustion chambers that allowed for the detonation of a larger fuel/air mixture, the Hemi engine transformed any run-of-the-mill Dodge, Plymouth, or Chrysler vehicle into the most feared competitor at the drag strip or stoplight in the 1960s and early ‘70s.

Capable of producing significantly more than the 425 horsepower and 490 ft-lb of torque that the factory claimed, the classic 426 cubic-inch Hemi could increase the price of a Mopar vehicle by as much as a third. Due to this, very few Hemi-equipped cars ever left the companies’ factories.

As such, many of the vehicles that did feature the “Elephant Motor” were amongst the most desirable muscle cars of the Golden Era, and today can fetch millions at the Mecum auction owing to their performance and scarcity.

In past iterations of Rare Rides, we have examined a number of notable Hemi cars such as the 1970 and ’71 Plymouth Hemicuda convertibles, the 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T Hemi convertible, and the 1968 Dodge/Hurst Hemi Dart L023 Super Stock.

For this month though, I thought we’d have a look at one of the very last and therefore most overlooked, 426 Hemi models built before stringent emissions legislation and insurance concerns conspired to kill off the legendary power plant. So if you’re interested, join me for a deep dive into the 1971 Dodge Charger 426 Hemi!

The 1971 Dodge Charger R/T 426 Hemi. This example sold at Mecum Auctions in 2023.

Hemi Charger Origin Story

The Charger story began in 1966, when the first generation car, which closely resembled a concept seen at auto shows the year before, was released to the public. The new car was based on the Dodge Coronet’s B-body platform, and borrowed a good deal of the latter vehicle’s mechanicals.

A two-door fastback that featured long-hood/short-deck proportions, the Charger was given several unique design elements such as a full-width “electric shaver” style grille with hidden headlamps, sculpted contours along its flanks, and a “wall-to-wall” taillamp.

The new for 1966 Dodge Charger (photo credit: Mecum).

Inside were unusual bucket seating front and rear, a full-length floor console, and a complement of gauges housed in metallic-bezeled faces backlit by electroluminescence.

Also atypical was the fact that the Charger was only offered with V8 engines. They included a base 318 cubic-inch two-barrel, a 361 cubic-inch two-barrel, a four-barrel 383, and the new 426 cubic-inch Street Hemi, derived from the power plant used in NASCAR racing.

The Charger had an upscale interior featuring four independent bucket seats and a flashy gauge cluster.

Sales of the car were good, with 37,344 Chargers finding new homes in the first model year. As such, Mother Mopar was quick to begin developing a second generation car, to debut in the 1968 model year.

That vehicle would turn out to be one of the most iconic muscle cars of all time.

This example of the iconic 1968 Dodge Charger was sold at Mecum’s 2024 Kissimmee auction.

Once again incorporating the B-body platform, the new car was no longer a somewhat eccentrically styled fastback, but was instead transformed into a graceful, sinuous beauty, reminiscent on some unspoken level of a gazelle or other swift animal.

The inset grille and hidden headlamps were standout design cues of the ’68 Charger. (Photo credit: Mecum)

Backing up the sporting looks of the ’68 Charger were muscular powertrains largely carried over from the 1967 model, though entry-level cars could now be had with a 225 cubic-inch slant-six, and two versions of the 383, in two- and four-barrel configurations, were made available.

New to the Charger line was the high-performance R/T (or Road and Track) trim, to which the big engines were reserved. The 440 Magnum with 375 horsepower was the base R/T motor, while the Hemi once again topped the line of mills.

Other design hallmarks included the flying buttress treatment flanking the rear window and the “Jet-Age” quad, round taillights. (Photo credit: Mecum)

A healthy 96,100 cars were produced in the first year of the new generation, and out of that number, roughly 17,000 were R/Ts.

Flush with this success, Dodge stuck with the body style for the next two years. Changes were limited to new grille and taillight designs each year, minor trim changes inside and out, and the replacement of the 440 Magnum with the 390 horsepower, 440 Six-Pack with three two-barrel carbs in 1970.

The second generation car carried on through the 1970 model year with largely only changes to the front and rear end treatments. (Photo credit: Mecum)

By that year though, the major American automakers were well aware that the muscle car era was rapidly drawing to a close. Insurers were increasing their premiums on such vehicles, making potential buyers unable to afford them, and federal legislators had approved increased standards on automobile emissions and gas consumption that would make the production of high-output engines impossible by 1972.

As a result, most manufacturers planned to go out with a bang with their 1971 muscle car offerings, introducing audacious new body styles and power plants that reached their zenith in terms of power.

The redesigned 1971 Dodge Charger. This audacious example was sold by Smokey Mountain Traders a few years back.

And so it was that Dodge again redesigned the Charger, this time eschewing elegant, classic lines for more bold contours that, in many ways, foreshadowed the aesthetic excesses that the ‘70s would later be known for.

Going Out on a High Note

Continuing to be based on the B-body underpinnings, the new Charger was treated to what Dodge designers coined “Fuselage Styling.” It consisted once again of a long hood/short deck configuration, this time visually stretched to the maximum.

This Mecum Auction car shows the resemblance of the ’71 Charger’s grille to that of the 1969 Pontiac GTO.

The front fascia was more than vaguely reminiscent of the 1969 Pontiac GTO’s, with a chrome ring bumper (optionally available in body color) that encircled a split grille and quad lamps. A lengthy hood followed that, in R/T trim sported an aggressive power dome bulge, and led to a compact greenhouse that featured quite oddly shaped, upswept quarter windows.

A semi-fastback treatment in the rear of the greenhouse led to a sloping trunk. The back of the vehicle featured triple-segmented rectangular taillights on each side, all surrounded by a chrome (or, once again, body-colored) ring that echoed the design of the car’s front end. The car’s sides featured little in the way of contouring or cut lines, and their sole detail consisted of twin, vertical, faux louvers at the leading edge of the doors.

The ’71’s rear end treatment with its segmented taillights.

Although the actual length of the car had shrunk by a not insignificant 4-1/2 inches, the elongated, flowing lines and massive front and rear overhangs made the car seem dramatically bigger than its predecessor. Overall, it was a decidedly radical look, and to say it was not universally loved, especially since it followed the iconic visage of the second generation car, would be an understatement.

On the R/T, exterior options were legion, and included such niceties as a wide range of colors including the “High Impact” hues like Plum Crazy, Panther Pink, Tor-Red, and Green-Go, vinyl roof coverings, stripes, a functional, dash-activated RamCharger pop-up induction hood, hold-down pins, concealed headlights, front and rear spoilers, the aforementioned urethane painted bumpers, and a sun roof amongst others.

The interior of the 1971 Charger R/T. Note the Hurst Pistol Grip shifter.

Inside, the 1971 Dodge Charger R/T was akin to most other muscle cars of the period, with a vinyl interior accented with faux woodgrain accents, bucket seats, and a full gauge cluster standard. Options consisted of power windows and steering, a tilt wheel, cruise control, various radios and cassette decks, variable speed wipers, a rear window defogger, air conditioning, and more.

Under the hood, the 1971 Dodge Charger R/T continued the performance legacy of past models.

The ’71’s “Fuselage Styling” was not for the faint of heart.

425 Gross Hot Horses of Hemi Heat

The 440 Magnum V8 featuring a lone Carter AFB four-barrel carb was the standard offering, and churned out a very respectable 370 horsepower and 480 ft-lb of torque. For a nominal upcharge of $125, buyers could upgrade the 440 to the 390 horse V-code “Six-Pack” version, so named for its triple two-barrel Holley 2300 carbs up top. Doing so also mandated heavy-duty suspension.

For those who needed even more bang for their buck though, the 426 Hemi was offered one last time on a B-body vehicle for an extra $746.50.

The “Elephant Motor” in 1971 guise.

By 1971, the street version of the Hemi featured a 4.250-inch bore and a 3.750-inch stroke with a hydraulic solid-lifter valvetrain and a 10.25:1 compression ratio. A pair of Carter AFB carburetors were mounted atop a dual-plane, aluminum intake manifold feeding a whole bunch of air and fuel to the combustion chambers, where spark from the dual-point distributor was delivered to the centrally located plugs.

2.25-inch intake and 1.94-inch exhaust valves permitted larger ports requiring dual rocker shafts that employed forged-steel rocker arms. A forged-steel crankshaft and rods were utilized, as were forged-aluminum pistons. Iron exhaust manifolds sent gasses to the rear through 2-1/2-inch dual exhausts with an H-pipe, mufflers, and twin resonators. The RamCharger hood was mandatory on 426-equipped vehicles.

The dash activated, pop-up RamCharger hood was standard equipment with the Hemi. Photo credit: Mecum.

Hemi-equipped cars could be outfitted with a buyer’s choice of a heavy-duty A-833 four-speed manual with a Hurst Pistol Grip shifter, or a robust 727 TorqueFlite three-speed slushbox for those who wanted one less pedal.

For putting all that grunt to the pavement, Charger Hemi automatics came with an 8-3/4-inch axle, while four-speed cars were equipped with a massive 9-3/4-inch Dana 60 rear. Available gearing included 3.23, 3.54, 3.55, 3.91, and 4.10 cogs depending on transmission. The latter was part of the Super Track Pack option which also included a Sure Grip LSD.

You definitely wouldn’t miss it coming.

Handling the Heat

Hemi cars received a heavy-duty suspension setup, consisting of independent, unequal-length control arms, 0.92-inch diameter torsion bars, a 0.88-inch diameter anti-sway bar, telescoping shock absorbers up front, and semi-elliptic leaf springs and telescoping shocks in the rear.

For slowing down, heavy-duty 11-inch by 2-1/2-inch drums resided in front, with 11-by-2-inch drums in the back. Power assist and front discs were included in the Super Track Pak. A variety of wheels, ranging from 14-inch steelies to 15 x 7-inch Rallye wheels shod in G60 performance tires were available.

15-inch Rally wheels with aggressive rubber were options.

Despite the weight of the 1971 Dodge Charger R/T Hemi coming in at a hefty 4,083 pounds, the Elephant motor’s massive power and torque combined with the available, aggressive gearing meant that the car could perform quite well. While not on par with the lighter E-body Hemi Challengers and Hemicudas, the ‘71 Charger R/T Hemi with a four-speed and the Super Track Pak could reach 60 mph in 6.5 seconds and trip the quarter mile in 13.73 seconds at 104 mph according to a period publication that tested the car.

Owing to the car’s controversial styling, as well as the increased cost of owning a big-block car in 1971, few people opted to purchase a Charger R/T that year. Only 2,743 were built, and of those, an astonishingly sparse 63 cars rolled out of the factory equipped with a 426 Hemi under the hood. Of that number, 33 were equipped with the TorqueFlite and 30 possessed four-speeds.

The end of an era… Photo credit: Mecum.

Over time though, the third generation body style has been re-evaluated and embraced by collectors for its outlandish looks, and today is highly sought after. Owing to their incredible scarcity, ’71 Hemi R/Ts have recently fetched in excess of $250,000 at Mecum auctions.

A boatload of cash for sure, but understandable given the 1971 Dodge Charger R/T 426 Hemi’s status as one of the Golden Era of muscle’s top Rare Rides.