800 HP Dodge Charger 605 cid / 9.9 L

A naturally aspirated 605 cubic inch Mopar big block making 800 horsepower sounds like it belongs under a modern turbocharged hood, not a classic Dodge Charger. Stroking a factory B/RB big block to this size takes it well past anything Chrysler engineers built at the factory, and it puts this Charger in the company of other 605-inch Mopar builds chasing the same big-inch, no-boost philosophy.

Eight hundred horsepower usually comes with a turbocharger whining under the hood or a supercharger poking through it — but this Dodge Charger builder skipped the boost entirely and went the old-fashioned way instead. Nine-point-nine liters of naturally aspirated Mopar big-block sit under that hood, a displacement number so large it sounds like a typo next to the factory 440s and 426 Hemis this car’s ancestors carried. Getting there means machining a stock big-block block and crank combination far past anything Chrysler engineers ever intended, and it raises an obvious question for anyone who has priced out a turbo kit: is stroking a big block to absurd proportions actually the smarter way to find 800 horsepower?

Turning a Factory Big Block Into a 605

Mopar’s B and RB big-block family — the engines that powered the 383, 400, 413, 426, and 440 — were never factory-cast anywhere near 605 cubic inches. Builders get there through a stroker combination: a longer-throw crankshaft, larger bore, and a set of connecting rods matched to push the displacement well past what any factory big block ever offered. It is the same approach Mopar engine shops use to push 383s and 440s up to the 600-900 horsepower range without touching a turbo or blower, just taken to one of its more extreme conclusions.

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The Company This Charger Keeps

This isn’t the only 605-cubic-inch Mopar build making the rounds among enthusiasts. A Pro Touring-style 1973 Dodge Charger SE has been built around a custom 605 cubic inch big block rated at roughly 805 horsepower and 740 lb-ft of torque, and forum builders on Mopar big-block boards have documented their own 605-inch street Hemi projects targeting 750 to 800 horsepower on pump gas. The displacement number shows up often enough in the Mopar world that it has become something of a benchmark for big-inch, big-block builds without forced induction.

Why Some Builders Still Skip the Boost

Turbos and superchargers are the fastest route to four-digit horsepower today, but a big-inch stroker offers something boost can’t fake: a torque curve that feels like it never stops pulling, without any lag or heat-soak to manage. For a street-driven Charger, that tradeoff — more built-in displacement instead of more plumbing — still has plenty of believers, even as some Mopar shops now bolt twin turbos onto similarly sized big blocks for numbers well beyond 800 horsepower.

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