Engine Builder magazine has announced its annual Engine of the Year for 2019 – a 428 cid Gen III Hemi Hellcat engine – built by Jake Sampson of Sampson Racing Engines in Inver Grove Heights, MN. Sampson accepted the award at Engine Builder’s PRI Party, sponsored by Autolite, at Rock Bottom Brewery in Indianapolis on December 11.
For the third consecutive year, Engine Builder magazine presented its Engine of the Year award, which stems from the Engine of the Week series, sponsored by PennGrade Motor Oil and Elring. Out of the 52 engines profiled in the series each year, a Top 10 engines are chosen by Engine Builder’s readers and social media audience for a chance to be crowned Engine of the Year.
The nominees for 2019 were:
- 408 cid Ford Windsor Stroker, built by Custom Performance Racing Engines
- 416 cid Turbocharged LS3 Stroker, built by CT Performance
- Civic Type R K20C1 Engine, built by 4 Piston Cylinder Heads
- Nissan/Datsun U20 Engine, built by Engineered Performance
- Twin Whipple 540 cid Big Block Chevy, built by Baker Engineering
- 540 cid Vortech Blower Top Sportsman Engine, built by Oakley Motorsports
- 433 cid Ford Dirt Late Model Engine, built by Cornett Racing Engines
- Toyota/Lexus 1UZ-FE V8 Engine, built by Hughes Race Engineering
- 428 cid Gen III Hemi Hellcat Engine, built by Sampson Racing Engines
- Suzuki GSX-R1000 Nitrous Engine, built by G-Force Race Engines
These Top 10 engines were pitted against one another in a two-week voting contest on Engine Builder’s website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages, with the winner claiming the crown of Engine of the Year.
In the end, after more than 1,200 votes, Sampson Racing Engines’ 428 cid Gen III Hemi Hellcat came out on top! For more details on the 2019 Engine of the Year, click here. If you’re interested in being part of the 2020 Engine of the Week series, please email editor Greg Jones at [email protected].
