HP is still HP. New engines are really works of art. I am currently poking around a pair of 5.7 Hemis Cylinder heads are awesome. About like an pro stock head 15 years ago. IT used to be we couldnt do that kind of flow on the street because we needed to eeep the fuel in suspension all the way from the Carb to the valve but now we are just sending air and injecting the fuel so the old problems dont exist. We have roller cams in all. The Roller allows for much more area under the curve than a flat tappet so even though we can open the valves at a point that doesnt upset idle we get them full open sooner. All of our cars now have Ram tuning. It used to be the only engies with that were the slant six to some extent and BB Chryslers. Now everything has it. My wifes new Dodge Journey even has short /long runner tuning. The 5.7s I am poking around have oil return outside edge of the block rather than dump it down on the crank and cam. They also have a windage tray in every motor. Air intakes (throttle bodies) are getting big too. Compression isnt suer high like the late 60s early seventies but it is sneaking once again above 9 to 1 on some models. Current V8s are like a detuned Formula 1 engines with more cubes. They do lack the rough raspy sound of the old V8s. I drive a 426 MAX wedge in the summer almost every day. It has no manners , Stinks and snorts and goes like you know what and I love it but the 5.7s I am poking around would with a serious effort I am afraid eat it for breakfast if given a hop up. I decided a couple of years ago to go and investigate these newer motors now that they can be bought on the cheap. Very mpressive to say the least. Still love my MW and my slant six dragster for sure but these new things are serious motors capable of great things. Hp is still though, despite the common misconception, Torque X RPM/5252 or 746 Watts per HP Don
The 6.1 Hemi makes 428 HP and 427 lb/ft of torque with the factory tune on the engine dyno. The stock cylinder head flows 338 cfm on the intake side and I don't remember what the exhaust side flows and this is right from the factory. To put things in prospective my stage V conversion heads for my 440 flows 327 cfm which is much better than a Gen II 426 with the factory cast iron heads flow.
Don't forget variable valve timing on many late motors. This allows very good cams at both low RPM and high. I believe all so far are two-step. It is a huge improvement already, and I betcha they figure out how to make cam fully variable for all RPM's and loads. I think already a 3 liter engine is equal to an old street 350 because the cam is both wilder and tamer than practical before. Much more low end torque from a small engine PLUS a hot cam at 6500.
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