Manufacturer rivalries are as old as the auto industry itself, and while the subject of “horsepower wars” typically centers on the muscle car era launched in the mid-Sixties, Detroit’s automakers scrambled to raise engine outputs in the Fifties just as fervently as they tried to out tailfin one another.
It was the new age of overhead-valve V-8 engines, and Chrysler’s hemi family was the king of compression. The company’s various brands, including De Soto, had their own versions, but all shared common architectural elements.
Displacements and power ratings grew through the decade and, in 1957, Dodge increased the displacement of its Red Ram hemi from 315 to 325 cubic inches, thanks to larger, 3.690-inch bores that complemented the 3.800-inch stroke.
The 1957 hemi was also known as the D-500 option and it added a
