This American Engine Produces The Most Horsepower Per Liter
- The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 boasts the best horsepower-to-displacement ratio for mainstream American engines.
- The Czinger 21C hybrid engine stands out with an astonishing power density of 329.86 horsepower per liter.
- The 2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost gives an impressive 136.9 horsepower per liter, making it the top choice for accessible power density among American engines.
American automakers used to own the horsepower title, building the most powerful V-8s in the world that out-muscled performance engines from Europe. There are a number of complicated factors that determine a car’s speed, most importantly the power-to-weight ratio, but gauging an engine’s awesomeness is as simple as determining how much horsepower it makes per unit of displacement. Engines were rated in cubic inches, but now it’s all about liters.
An engine can have some impressive displacement like the legendary Chevy 454 LS6, but at 450 horsepower, it only produced 60.8 ponies per liter. That engine had 7.4 liters of displacement. To put that into perspective, the iconic Chrysler 426 Hemi (6.98 liters) produced the same horsepower per liter with 28 fewer cubic inches of displacement. With advancements in turbocharging and supercharging, engines can now blast out insane power from smaller V-6 and inline-four engines, giving them unreal horsepower-to-displacement ratios.
The rest of the world has caught up to America in terms of producing powerful engines, but that doesn’t mean U.S. automakers are second-class. This country still makes amazing horsepower-centric engines, with much less displacement than was needed in the classic muscle era. To determine the American engine that produces the most horsepower per liter, there have to be a few rules in place. First, it has to be an engine that was equipped in an actual vehicle, no crate engines need apply, and second, it has to be from an American automaker, not a foreign-owned manufacturer with factories in the U.S.
In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including Czinger Vehicles, Car And Driver, and MotorTrend.
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The Czinger 21C Has The Ultimate Power Density
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The Czinger 21C is a hypercar from boutique California automaker Czinger Vehicles. It’s one of the fastest rides available, but it also has the American engine that produces the most horsepower per liter of displacement. The 21C has a hybrid engine with a 2.88-liter twin-turbo V-8 and two electric motors that combine to make 1,250 horsepower or a variant that cranks it up to 1,350 ponies. Before anyone starts crying foul that a hybrid’s output is not entirely from the gas engine and shouldn’t count toward the power density, check this out: the 2.88-liter flat-crank DOHC twin-turbocharged engine, all by itself, blasts out a reality-bending 950 horsepower.
21C Power And Performance
(Performance stats sourced from Czinger Vehicles)
950 divided by 2.88 equals 329.86 horsepower per liter produced by this unbelievable performance vehicle. This is more than double the power density of any other American car, past or present. There are even more surprises about this mid-engine masterpiece in that the driver’s seat and passenger seat are in-line like a fighter jet, plus the brake calipers and suspension components are unified into a single unit known as the BrakeNode. Czinger only plans to build 88 21Cs, and they start at $2 million, with a $2.8 million special edition. This is a 3-D printed racecar, not a street machine, which isn’t remotely accessible to most people, so its power density, while impressive, needs some context in comparison to mainstream American autos.
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The Demon 170 Possesses The Most Ponies Per Liter For A Regular Production Model
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While the Czinger 21C is mighty impressive, and somehow street legal, it’s a niche car, so the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V-8 of the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 is the mainstream American engine with the best horsepower-to-displacement ratio. At 1,025 ponies and 6.2 liters of displacement, simple math tells us the mighty Mopar cranks out 165.3 horsepower for every liter of size.
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The awesome honor does come with a slight caveat, however, as the engine only hits that high mark of power running E85 race fuel, which includes 170-proof alcohol, hence the name. On 93-octane pump gas, the Demon 170 only generates 900 ponies, which translates into 145.1 horsepower per liter.
Demon 170 Power and Performance
(Performance stats sourced from Car and Driver)
The Demon 170 is part of the Dodge “Last Call” vehicles, which were special edition models that paid tribute to the classic muscle car era of Mopar Performance. The engine is a reworked version of the 807-horsepower 6.2-liter Hellcat V-8, with a much larger supercharger to really pull some impressive power out.
The Demon 170 was delayed in its release because engineers had to figure out a way to keep the engine from exploding. Once that was sorted out, the last great gas-powered Dodge muscle car went from blowing up on the dyno to obliterating the quarter-mile, as the fastest accelerating production vehicle ever built.
The Mustang Shelby GT500 Runs a Close Second
Second place on the podium goes to the 5.2-liter supercharged V-8 of the 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, which does a lot with one less liter than the Demon 170. At 760 horsepower, the iconic pony car blasts out 146.1 ponies per liter. That’s actually one more horsepower than the Demon 170 on pump gas, so there is a possible technical win for Blue Oval over Mopar.
Then again, technical wins aren’t actual wins and the Mustang doesn’t have an alcohol-burning variant with the same kind of Muscle as the Dodge. Still, the 3.4 second 0-60 time and the 11.3 second quarter-mile runs of the Shelby GT500 are nothing to scoff at.
The Dodge Viper Bites It
For the longest time, until the escalating supercharger wars, the Dodge Viper was the most powerful American-made vehicle, and among the most ferocious worldwide. The 2015 Viper GTS was the pinnacle of performance for the model, generating 645 horsepower. While that’s certainly impressive, it’s a bit underwhelming on the ratio because the Viper came equipped with a gigantic 8.5-liter, naturally aspirated V-10 engine. With that massive displacement, the horsepower per liter was just 76.4, which is less than half of what the Demon 170 makes.
Wheelie from 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170
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Naturally-Aspirated Aspirations
Turbochargers and superchargers increase horsepower by forcing in air to burn fuel faster and more efficiently. It’s kind of like using performance-enhancing drugs, which is cheating in sports. It ain’t cheating in motorsports, however, but no discussion of the American engines that produced the most horsepower per liter would be complete without crowning a naturally aspirated champion.
That distinction goes to the 5.5-liter V-8 of the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Producing a neck-snapping 670 horsepower, the iconic sports car, and now supercar, has a 121.1 horsepower per liter ratio.
Corvette Z06 Power and Performance
(Performance stats sourced from Car and Driver)
Another Impressive Pony Run For The Mustang
Once again, a Mustang engine came in second, this time in the naturally aspirated category. The 5.0 V-8 of the 2023 Ford Mustang GT gets 450 ponies on that displacement, generating 90.0 horsepower per liter. What’s truly impressive here is that Ford managed to pull all of that power out of the legendary 5.0. Back in the Fox Body days, a Mustang GT with that same-sized engine only produced 225 horsepower, which seemed pretty badass at the time. Forced air induction has turned engines into monsters, but so too has modern manufacturing technology.
Scat Pack Attack
Rounding out the top three naturally-aspirated power-density rides is the 2023 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack and its 6.4-liter (392ci) Hemi V-8. The 75.7 horsepower per liter ratio doesn’t sound as Earth-shattering as the other engines detailed here, but under the hood of the Charger Scat pack, it’s a bringer of doom.
With a 3.8 second 0-60 time and quarter-mile runs in the low 12s, according to MotorTrend, it is the quickest naturally-aspirated four-door known to humankind. Also, it’s not far behind the Viper’s 76.4 horsepower per liter ratio, with far less displacement.
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Power Density For 2024
There is no question that the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V-8 in the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 is the most power-dense regular production American engine ever built, but it is now a discontinued model. Also, the Czinger 21C has a mind-blowing horsepower-to-displacement ratio, but most people will never even see one, let alone own one.
For the sake of fairness, an engine with the top horsepower per liter that is available for purchase in 2024 by people of normal means must be named. After two great showings, a Mustang engine finally comes out on top. The turbocharged EcoBoost 2.3-liter four-cylinder in the 2024 Ford Mustang makes 315 horsepower, which translates into 136.9 horsepower per liter. As amazing as that is, the engine is the standard powerplant for the base model ‘Stang, which is legitimately awesome.
2024 Mustang Power and Performance
(Performance stats sourced from Car and Driver)
The Dodge Hornet Also Has Some Sting
Coming in a close second in the mighty four-bangers is the 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 of the 2024 Dodge Hornet. Spewing out 268 horsepower, it produces 134 ponies per liter, making it the most power-dense Mopars ever. Unfortunately, the Hornet may not qualify as it is essentially an Alfa Romeo Tonale. Dodge is still considered an American company, but it is owned by international conglomerate Stellantis, and in the case of the Hornet, it’s a badge-engineered version of an Italian SUV, so there’s a legitimate question whether or not it is truly an American vehicle.
F-150 V-6 Enters The Conversation
It would be neglectful to wrap up this conversation without pointing out the American V-6 that produces the most horsepower per liter. That honor goes to the 2.7-liter twin-turbo V-6 that comes standard on the 2024 Ford F-150. Rated at 325 horsepower, it produces 120.3 horsepower per liter of displacement. That’s the best ratio of any truck, including the 702 horsepower of the 6.2-liter turbocharged 2024 Ram TRX, which only makes 113.2 per liter.
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Future of American Performance
There are a few models that still come with tamer eight-cylinder engines, but for the immediate future, it is all about pulling insane power out of turbo I-4s and V-6s. Horsepower is horsepower, so it shouldn’t really matter what engine configuration it comes from, but there is something about V-8s that adds a rush of excitement most American gearheads will relate to.
Even Mopar muscle is looking to the future with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six Hurricane that will go under the hoods of Ram 1500s and Charger Six-Packs for the 2025 model year. With several versions, Dodge has confirmed that the gas-powered Charger reboot will get the 550-horsepower high-output Hurricane.
Hang onto your hats, because this is some serious power density, the 2025 Charger Six-Pack will produce 183.3 horsepower per liter, which is better than any other American engine besides the Czinger 21C. Dodge is hyping the EV version of the new Charger, but the ICE machine sounds way more exciting.