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==First generation: FirePower 1951–1958==<!-- Other articles link here. -->
Chrysler applied their military experience with the hemispherical combustion chamber to their first [[Overhead valve engine|overhead-valve]] [[V8 engine]], released under the name '''FirePower''', not "Hemi," in 1950 for the 1951 model year. The first version of the FirePower engine had a displacement of {{convert|331|cuin|L|1|abbr=on}} and produced {{convert|180|bhp|kW|1|abbr=on}}. Eventually, three of the four Chrysler divisions had their own version of the FirePower engine, with different displacements and designations, and having almost no parts in common. This lack of commonality was due in part to the three engine versions using different bore pitches (the center-to-center distance between adjacent cylinders). Chrysler and [[Imperial (automobile)|Imperial]] called their versions the ''FirePower''. [[DeSoto (automobile)|DeSoto]] called theirs the ''FireDome''. Dodge had a smaller version, known as the ''Red Ram''. Only [[Plymouth (automobile)|Plymouth]] did not have a version, but retained the Dodge [[Polyspheric|poly-head engines]]. There was no Plymouth Hemi engine until the 1964 [[426 Hemi|426]].
[[Briggs Cunningham]] used the Chrysler version in some of his [[race car]]s for international motorsports. A Chrysler-powered [[B. S. Cunningham Company#C-5R|Cunningham C-5R]] won its class in 1953. Cunningham switched away from these designs in 1959 when Chrysler temporarily abandoned the hemispherical concept in favor of the wedge-head [[Chrysler B engine|B engine]] until 1964. [[Carl Kiekhaefer]] also used the Chrysler engines in NASCAR cars owned by him from 1955 and 1956, winning the [[NASCAR Cup Series|Grand National Series]] championship both years.
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