Mopar Hellephant is sold out, but here are 4 other awesome crate V8s to try

Despite

a relatively enormous $30,000 price

tag,

Mopar’s 1,000-horsepower supercharged Hellephant

crate engine

sold out in just 48 hours

. Some enthusiasts may have missed out on the crazy engine due to lack of funds, or they just assumed there would still be some Hellephants down the line. But worry not, swap-happy gearheads. There are plenty of V8s in the world to pick from, and we highlighted four favorites. They’re not as powerful, but they’re all cheaper, and still have a lot to offer.

Mopar 6.2L Hellcrate

Odds are a lot of prospective Hellephant buyers were Mopar fans to begin with, so we’ll start the list with the next-most-potent offering:

the Hellcrate

. This is the same supercharged 6.2-liter V8 found under the hood of the

Dodge Charger

and

Challenger Hellcats

and the

Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

. It makes 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque like those cars, too. It’s also about $10,000 cheaper than the Hellephant engine at $20,020, and that leftover money can be used to finish the project or for

aftermarket

upgrades to get it closer to the Hellephant’s output.

GM LS9 6.2L

The Hellcrate isn’t the only factory supercharged crate engine on the market. From

General Motors

comes the supercharged

6.2-liter LS9 V8

. This is the engine that was used in

the C6 Corvette ZR1

. At 638 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque, it doesn’t make as much power or torque as the Hellcrate. But it does boast a dry sump oil system. So instead of pumping oil out of a pan at the bottom, the engine uses an oil tank mounted remotely that pumps oil into the engine. This means the engine is shorter overall, and can be mounted lower for a better center of gravity. It also means that there’s almost no risk of running the engine dry in hard cornering, as could happen with a normal oil sump where the oil can slosh to the side without the oil pump. Basically, it offers some major benefits if you want supercharged V8 power for a road course car. It’s also a tad cheaper than the Hellcrate at $18,149. But get one while you can, because

GM

is only selling what’s left from when it was building the C6 ZR1.

Ford Aluminator 5.2XS

Our pick from the Blue Oval lacks a supercharger, but it makes up for that with a flat-plane crank. Yes,

the Aluminator 5.2XS

is very similar to the 5.2-liter engine found under the hood of the

Shelby GT350 Mustang

. The difference is that this version is actually better. Due to a few changes including the use of a Cobra Jet intake manifold and throttle body, revised cam profiles and different connecting rods, pistons and head bolts, it makes 580 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque. In comparison, the GT350 only makes 526 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque. The Aluminator engine does still rev up to an amazing 7,800 rpm, and it won’t sound like any other American V8 on the market. It barely fits price-wise between the Hellcrate and the LS9 at $19,995.

GM LS7 7.0L

Before there was the GT350 and the Aluminator engine, there was

the C6 Z06

,

Camaro Z/28

and

the LS7

engine. Though the Aluminator and the GT350’s Voodoo engines eclipse the LS7 in revs and power, the GM engine’s 505 horsepower, 470 pound-feet of torque and 7,000 rpm redline are still impressive. It’s an engine that at least one of our editors still fantasizes about today. It also brings a dry sump oil system to the table like the LS9. To sweeten the deal, it’s the most affordable of the engines on our list at $13,293.28. We’re not entirely sure why GM decided to price it down to the penny, but we don’t really care with this classic power plant.