A journey through a remarkable engine's remarkable history ...

1939 Chrysler begins design work on first HEMI®, a V-16 for fighter aircraft.

1951 Chrysler stuns automotive world with 180 hp HEMI V-8 engine.

1951 Chrysler New Yorker convertible paces Indianapolis 500 race.

1951 Saratoga first in Stock Car Class; second overall in Carrera Pan-American road race.

1951 Briggs Cunningham chooses HEMI engines for his Le Mans race cars.

1952 A special HEMI is tested in a Kurtis Kraft Indy roadster; it's banned by racing officials as too fast.

1953 Lee Petty's HEMI Dodge wins five NASCAR races and finishes second in championship points.

1953 Cunningham's C-4R HEMI wins 12 Hours of Sebring and finishes third at Le Mans.

1953 A Dodge HEMI V-8 breaks 196 stock car records at Bonneville Salt Flats.

1954 A Chrysler HEMI with four-barrel and dual exhausts makes 235 hp.

1954 Lee Petty wins Daytona Beach race in a Chrysler HEMI.

1954 Lee Petty wins NASCAR Grand National Championship driving Chrysler and Dodge HEMIs.

1954 Cunningham HEMIs win Sebring again, third and fifth at Le Mans.

1954 Dodge Red Ram HEMI convertible paces Indy 500.

1955 Chrysler introduces the legendary 300 as America's most powerful stock car.

1955 Chrysler 300 with dual four-barrel 331 c.i.d. HEMI is first production car to make 300 hp.

1955 A Carl Keikhaefer-prepared Chrysler 300 wins at Daytona Beach with Tim Flock driving.

1955 Chrysler bumps HEMI to 250 hp in New Yorker and 280 hp in Imperial.

1955 Frank Mundy wins AAA Championship in Kiekhaefer-prepared Chrysler 300.

1956 DeSoto Fireflite HEMI convertible paces Indianapolis 500.

1956 Buck Baker wins NASCAR Grand National Championship in Chrysler 300B with 14 wins.

1956 Chrysler 300B sets World Passenger Car speed record at Daytona Beach - 133.9 mph.

1956 Don "Big Daddy" Garlits begins 46-year winning association with Chrysler HEMIs.

1957 Chrysler 300C HEMI increased to 392 c.i.d. and 375 hp.

1958 Last year of HEMI engine in Chrysler 300 models.

1958 Don "Big Daddy" Garlits breaks the 170-mph barrier in his "Swamp Rat" HEMI dragster.

1959 Original Ramchargers debut "High & Mighty" HEMI-powered C/A (altered class) '49 Plymouth to win NHRA Nationals.

1964 A.J. Foyt wins Firecracker 400 at Daytona; Plymouth or Dodge vehicles lead every lap.

1964 Chrysler introduces the 426 c.i.d. race HEMI into competition.

1964 Richard Petty debuts the 426 HEMI and laps the field while winning the Daytona 500.

1964 Three HEMI-powered Plymouth cars and a HEMI Dodge sweep Daytona 1-2-3.

1964 HEMI-powered stock cars win 26 of the 62 NASCAR Grand National races.

1964 Richard Petty captures his first of seven driving championships with eight wins and 37 top-five finishes.

1964 Don Garlits breaks 200-mph quarter-mile barrier in HEMI dragster - 201.34 mph in 7.78 sec.

1964 Jim Thornton wins 1964 U.S. Nationals in Ramcharger's "Candymatic" 426 HEMI Dodge.

1964 Jim Paschal wins NASCAR World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in HEMI-powered Plymouth.

1965 NASCAR outlaws HEMI by setting minimum production levels for street use.

1965 Bob Summers sets present 409.227 mph Land Speed Record in "Goldenrod" using four HEMIs in tandem.

1965 Shirley Shahan becomes first female to win major NHRA event driving a HEMI Plymouth.

1966 Chrysler builds the "Street HEMI" and returns to NASCAR racing.

1966 Richard Petty again wins Daytona 500 in his HEMI Plymouth Belvedere.

1966 HEMI Dodge Charger wins the NASCAR Championship; Plymouth is second.

1966 Norm Nelson wins USAC stock car championship with seven wins in a HEMI Plymouth.

1967 Richard Petty wins an incredible 27 Grand National races in HEMI Plymouth; 10 in a row.

1967 Richard Petty wins his second NASCAR championship in his HEMI Plymouth.

1967 Don White's Charger gives HEMI cars second USAC championship in a row.

1968 Sox and Martin win three major AHRA events; Ronnie Sox named AHRA Driver of the Year.

1968 Dodge and Plymouth produce a limited number of 426 HEMI Super Stock Darts and Barracudas.

1968 Road Runner, first budget muscle car, is introduced by Plymouth; available with 426 HEMI option.

1969 Dodge introduces Charger 500 HEMI, which wins 22 NASCAR races.

1969 The "winged" 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona with HEMI power reigns over NASCAR superspeedways.

1970 Buddy Baker is the first to break 200 mph on a closed course in a HEMI Dodge Charger Daytona stock car.

1970 Bobby Isaac sets a closed course speed record of 201.104 mph in a Dodge Charger Daytona after winning the NASCAR championship.

1970 Sox and Martin HEMI Plymouth vehicles win 17 major championships and are runners-up in all other major events.

1971 Bobby Isaac breaks 28 records at Bonneville in a Dodge Charger Daytona; top speed is 217.368 mph.

1971 Richard Petty wins his third NASCAR Grand National Championship in a HEMI Road Runner.

1971 Don Garlits introduces HEMI-powered rear engine dragster at NHRA Winter Nationals.

1971 Sox and Martin win six of eight NHRA events; they represent drag racing at a presidential reception.

1991 Al Teague sets 409.986-mph wheel-driven Land Speed Record in the Supercharged class with single HEMI.

2003 5.7-liter HEMI develops up to 345 hp and 375 lb.-ft. of torque.

2003 5.7-liter HEMI in Ram 2500/3500 series trucks delivers best-in-class power, acceleration and towing capacity.

2003 5.7-liter HEMI is 56 lbs. lighter, has 41 percent more power and 12 percent more torque than the 5.9-liter Magnum wedge head engine it replaces.

2003 5.7-liter HEMI is the first Chrysler production gasoline engine with electronic throttle control or "Drive-by-Wire."

2003 The 5.7-liter HEMI meets all federal emissions standards and delivers 8-10 percent better economy than the engine it replaces.

2003 5.7-liter HEMI is the first Chrysler production engine to use two spark plugs per cylinder.

2003 5.7-liter HEMI features "Leak Free" design with a cast-in drain through on the oil filter pad.

2003 HEMI architecture produces power comparable to an overhead cam engine, yet is less costly to build.

2004 After nearly 50 years, the HEMI engine returns to a Chrysler brand passenger vehicle in the new Chrysler 300 and, after nearly 30 years, to a Dodge brand passenger vehicle in the Dodge Magnum, fitted with the all-new 5.7-liter HEMI V-8.

2004 HEMI-powered Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum produce 340 hp (254 kW) @ 5000 rpm and 390 lb.-ft. (525 N•m) @ 4000 rpm.

2004 Chrysler 300C and Dodge Magnum RT are the first modern-production vehicles produced in North America to feature cylinder deactivation - the Chrysler Group Multi-Displacement System (MDS) turns off four cylinders in the 5.7-liter HEMI engine when V-8 power is not needed for up to a 20-percent fuel savings.