Dodge Ram Explodes In A Shower Of Pistons During 3000hp Dyno Attempt

Cummins diesel engines are renowned for their durability, but if you’re trying to squeeze a huge amount of power out of one, things can go awry. That’s what the team behind Power Driven Diesel discovered at the recent ‘2021 Ultimate Callout Challenge’. Twice.

In what was actually the second engine failure for the performance shop’s ‘The Godfather’ Dodge Ram during the event (the first one popped during a drag run), the Cummins unit dramatically exploded on the dyno. The aim was to hit 3000hp, but it wasn’t to be.

The explosion was so violent that pistons were launched high into the air, one of them punching a hole in a sign above the grandstand and landing in the crowd. Thankfully, it seems no one was hit by debris, and both the driver and the dyno operator - who can be seen getting the hell out of there rather swiftly - were unharmed.

The aftermath footage is quite something, too (6min 40 onwards). We can see that there’s pretty much nothing left of the cylinder head, while the block has twisted to a near-vertical angle from the force of the explosion.

3000hp wasn’t as big a stretch for the inline-six oil-burner as you might imagine. It had already reached 2700, and it was hoped a 100 shot of nitrous oxide would take it the rest of the way. As for exactly what went wrong and the full extent of the damage caused, Power Driven Diesel has promised to release a detailed rundown on its channel at a later date.