Features

For more than half a century the Hemi has been at the heart of some America's most iconic motoring muscle. And now a Chrysler competition has given this familiar name some alarming applications...

Snowblower
Not a phenomenon we're all that familiar with, but Uncle Sam's wintry north demands daily snow clearing on a monstrous scale. Michigan resident Tim Flucht reckons 345bhp and 375lb ft of Hemi torque ought to do it, though. This much power is likely to create massive snowdrifts, but Tim doesn't care. They'll be a couple of blocks away.

Paper shredder
Office politics could take a turn for the worse with this one. Next time internal mail drops something unpleasant in your lap, hit a hidden switch and up pops a funnel from the top of your desk. Burbling beneath is a 5.7-litre Hemi-driven paper shredder. The brainchild of Randy and Robin Fredner, it can shred not just whole reams of paper, but CDs and even phone books.

Hemi-go-round
A different breed of horses on the merry-go-round this year. Jonathon Brzon has dispatched the traditional carnival theme in favour of a bit of Hemi-homage. Both classic and modern Hemipowered automobile miniatures replace the usual tame wooden ponies, and a Perspex-covered engine turns the 22-foot circumference of the ride at twice the average speed. Exhaust tips sprouting from the centre column ensure that you hear even more of this Hemi than you see.

Trike
It's no surprise that the competition's winning design appeals to the big kid in all of us. While Canadian Marcus Braun has even decked his Big-Wheel-style custom trike out with handle bar tassels and garish Early Learning Centre livery, the spec sheet is pure adult reading. With a Hemi mounted behind the driver, the trike is counter-balanced by a four-foot front wheel and needs Goodyear racing slicks to gain traction. Eight straight-cut exhaust stacks should make for chaos at the kindergarten.