Description
By: Darwin Holmstrom, David Newhardt .
Since the early years of the internal combustion engine, engineers recognized that the hemispherical head design, which utilized dome-shaped combustion chambers, generated phenomenal horsepower. During World War II, Chrysler developed this extremely powerful engine design for tanks and other military vehicles. After the war the company applied this technology to a 330-cubic-inch V-8 destined for its 1951 production cars. This engine became so dominant on America's racetracks and boulevards that its nickname - Hemi - came to symbolize the ultimate in American performance.
Hemi Muscle Cars tells the story of the magnificent Hemi-powered performance cars and explains why the Hemi has blown away the competition for six decades--and still does so today. More importantly, the book shows how this potent engine became a cultural icon, how it came to define American performance cars.
SYNOPSIS:
Hemi. For nearly sixty years, the name has meant power, speed, and unrivalled racing success. The legend began in the years following World War II when
Chrysler responded to Detroit's burgeoning horsepower wars with the FirePower, an overhead valve V-8 that featured highly efficient hemispherical combustion chambers.
The engine soon found its true calling in on-track competition. Chrysler's engine dominated all corners, changing the
face of drag racing forever and forcing NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. to resort to extreme measures to keep the Hemi from monopolizing NASCAR's winner's circle.
The legend reached its peak during the muscle car era of the late 1960s and early 1970s—a time when Chrysler was shoehorning its all-powerful second- generation Hemis into some of the most iconic muscle cars ever built in the United States, including the Dodge Charger and Challenger, as well as the Plymouth 'Cuda and Road Runner.
Even today, the Hemi continues to make history in Chrysler's newest, most popular cars, indulging drivers of the 21st century with an exhilarating excess of horsepower. In Hemi Muscle Cars, author Darwin Holmstrom and photographer David Newhardt spin the improbable tale of the Hemi and the cars it powered to glory. It's a ride you won't want to miss.
