Hemi Muscle Cars

by Holmstrom, Darwin; Newhardt, David

• ISBN13: 9780760331729
• ISBN10: 0760331723
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-10-01
• Publisher: Motorbooks

Summary

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 Carstells 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.

Author Biography

Darwin Holmstrom has been a muscle car fan since childhood. He became distracted with motorcycles in the early 1980s and for the next twenty-odd years he focused on two-wheeled performance, during which time he wrote the best-selling The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Motorcycles Since returning to cars, he and photographer David Newhardt have created the best-selling books Camaro Forty Years and Muscle: America’s Legendary Performance Cars (co-authored with Randy Leffingwell.)
David Newhardt is one of the best automobile photographers working today.  He is the author of such best-selling books as Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, and has provided photography for Muscle: America's Legendary Performance Cars, Corvette Fifty Years, Mustang Forty Years, and Mopar Muscle among others. Newhardt lives in Pasadena, California.