5 Non-Chrysler Hemi Engines (And The Cars They Powered)

Chrysler is known for building Hemi engines, and it even trademarked the HEMI (all caps) name to signify to buyers that its vehicles have a unique powertrain. However, one of the interesting facts about the Hemi engine is that the term 'Hemi' does not refer to a specific engine brand made by a particular manufacturer. Instead, Hemi refers to an engine that uses a hemispherical combustion chamber in the cylinder head. This differs from the typical overhead valve or camshaft engines you find in most cars today in that Hemi engines have a combustion chamber shaped like the top half of a sphere, that's why it's called hemispherical or Hemi.

While HEMI engines powered many of Chrysler's most iconic cars, the first Hemi engine was actually from boat built by the Truscott Launch and Engine Company in 1901. It was, in fact, built for the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane during World War II, although it didn't see combat due to the end of the war. It wasn't until 1951 that Chrysler made its first Hemi engine and although it's the most popular manufacturer to use that design, it wasn't the only one.

These are five non-Chrysler Hemi engines that made it to the market and some of the cars they powered. Many of these engines are not as popular Chrysler's offerings in the United States, so you may not know them or the cars they came in. Nevertheless, you might be surprised to find that some of the most iconic cars in automotive history actually feature a Hemi engine.

[Featured image by Marshmallowbunnywabbit via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | Public Domain]

The Alfa Romeo Busso V6 is a Hemi engine built by Giuseppe Busso, the same man who was instrumental in building Ferrari's first V12 engine. The company was already working on the engine by the early 1970s, but the oil crisis came along, and the company had to put the project on hold. It wasn't until 1979 that Alfa Romeo put the Busso V6 engine in a car, where it finally received its well-deserved recognition.

When the engine came out, it was available as a 2.5-liter engine that delivered a seeming anemic 156 hp. However, this was the late 70s, and we should remember that even the Corvette's massive V8 at that time only made 190 hp. It also initially had six carburetors, which, thankfully, was eventually upgraded to fuel injectors. Despite those initial shortcomings, many praised the Busso V6 for its wonderful exhaust note, with some calling it Alfa's violin.

The Busso V6 has become so successful that the car company continued all the way through 2005 — some 26 years after it was first introduced. By this time, its displacement had reached 3.5 liters, with the most powerful version, the Bussone, outputting 247 hp. And because it was such a well-loved engine, it's reported that Alfa Romeo had such a large stockpile that you could find it new cars as late as 2010.

Because of how much Alfa Romeo loved it, you will find the Busso V6 in many of its cars. This engine powered some of the best Alfa Romeo models of all time, including iconic models like the Alfetta GTV6 and the 2002 Alfa Romeo 156 GTA.

Aston Martin built the DBS in 1967 to replace the DB6, one of the best-looking Aston Martins ever designed, but it wasn't until 1969 that it received the new Aston Martin V8 engine built by Tadek Marek. This engine used a hemispherical design and was the basis of many V8 engines the company produced, one of the last models to use this engine was the Aston Martin Virage (banned from America), which was discontinued in 2000. Jaguar's AJ-V8 engine replaced the Aston Martin V8 with the arrival of the 2005 Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

The 5.3-liter Aston Martin V8 engine gave the 1969 Aston Martin DBS V8 315 hp, allowing it to hit up to 160 mph. It's also the engine behind the 600 hp Aston Martin Vantage Le Mans V600, the most powerful Aston Martin of its day and also one of the worst looking Astons, according to SlashGear readers. It was also used by the original Aston Martin Lagonda, and this V8 engine was one of the greatest features of this four-door Aston.

[ Featured image by dave_7 via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0 ]

While you'd typically associate Hemi engines with Chrysler, it was actually preceded by Jaguar's XK6 inline-6 engine, which was made from 1949 to 1992. This six-cylinder engine had dual overhead camshafts, 12 valves (two valves per cylinder), polished cam covers, and a hemispherical combustion chamber.

The XK6 powered models that won Le Mans in 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, and 1957. This made the XK6 a legend, showing its power and reliability in the most grueling of races. It was also the engine of choice for the Jaguar E-Type Series 1. The last brand-new model to use this engine was the Daimler Sovereign limousine in 1992, but, in 2018, Jaguar produced 25 more examples of the iconic Jaguar D-Type, all built to the same exact specifications as the 1950s car.

This gave the engine an astounding 43-year run. But if you consider the special D-Type release, this gives the XK6 a 69-year lifespan — an achievement for any engine. However, because Jaguar knows the pedigree and collectability of this engine and the cars that it powers, it started manufacturing the 3.8-liter KX engine block again in 2020, allowing classic Jaguar owners to keep their collections running on the road.

[ Featured image by Jaguar Heritage Racing via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0 ]

The first Porsche 911, which debuted in 1963, was powered by an air-cooled flat-six engine. And while we typically associate Hemi engines with American muscle, tearing open the original 911's 2.0-liter, 110 hp powertrain reveals a half-globe combustion chamber, thus making it a Hemi engine.

Even as the 911 evolved through the years, it used the same air-cooled flat-six engine until the introduction of water-cooled engines in the 996 in 1997. This over 30-year run shows why the Porsche Flat-Six is one of the most reliable air-cooled engines ever made. Aside from the 911s, other Porsche models also sported the same flat-six engine. This includes the Porsche 914/6, which used the same engine from the 911 T (although the base-model 914 only used a flat-four engine from the Volkswagen Beetle).

You can find the most powerful air-cooled flat-six that Porsche released in the 993-generation Porsche 911 GT2. The car maker added two turbos to the engine, allowing it to hit 444 hp.

[ Featured image by Tennen-Gas via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

You might not equate Toyota to a big honking V8, but you'd be surprised that the carmaker has tried its hand with a Hemi engine as well with the Toyota V V8. During the 1960s, most people would equate luxury to large American cars powered by massive V8s, and the Japanese car manufacturer wanted to have a slice of this pie. So, it introduced the Toyota V V8 in the Toyota Crown Eight, which it built in partnership with Yamaha.

Designed to compete with Chrysler's massive 426 HEMI, this Toyota Hemi had a quaint 2.6-liter displacement (426 cubic inches is equal to about 7 liters) and puts out 114 hp. The Toyota Crown Eight didn't last long, though, being made as a single generation model from 1964 to 1967. However, the V engine didn't end there, as it found its way in the first-generation Toyota Century. It received a bigger displacement, bumping its output to 3 liters and 148 hp, and a new name: 3V.

In 1973, Toyota again bumped its power out to 177 hp by increasing its displacement to 3.4 liters, calling it the 4V engine. However, as Japan introduced new emissions stands in 1975, the company had to add a catalytic converter to the engine and changed its name to 4V-U. Finally, in 1978, Toyota replaced the 4V-U with the 4V-EU by adding electronic fuel injection to the engine.

The last Toyota Hemi engine is the 5V-EU, which had a 4-liter displacement, 188 hp, and 239 lb-ft of torque. It arrived in 1983 and is still exclusive to the Toyota Century. Unfortunately, when it updated the Century in 1997 to have a larger V12, it used a non-hemi design, ending Toyota's run with Hemi.