Automotive
Ram is doing one thing few automakers ever do. It’s admitting it made a mistake. After pulling the legendary Hemi V-8 from the Ram 1500 lineup for 2025 and changing it with a lineup of six-cylinder engines, the backlash was swift and loud. Patrons weren’t joyful, and Ram listened. Now, the Hemi is formally again for the 2026 mannequin yr, and order books are open.
The 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 received’t be commonplace throughout the lineup, however it’s out there as an possibility on most trims. Relying on the mannequin, it’ll value as much as $1,200 to get again that unmistakable V-8 rumble. Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis was candid concerning the reversal. “Ram screwed up once we dropped the Hemi—we personal it and we mounted it,” he mentioned. That stage of honesty is uncommon, and it’s clearly a response to how passionately Ram patrons really feel about their engines.
The returning V-8 will produce the identical 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque as earlier than, and it retains the eTorque mild-hybrid system to help effectivity and clean start-stop operation. The objective, based on Kuniskis, was to carry the engine again with out triggering an extended improvement cycle. That meant retaining the Hemi precisely because it was, permitting Ram to bypass time-consuming recalibrations and emissions certifications.
Patrons can spec the Hemi in a variety of trims together with Tradesman, Massive Horn, Categorical, Warlock, Laramie, Insurgent (a bit of later), Restricted, and Longhorn. Apparently, the Restricted and Longhorn trims already include Ram’s high-output 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six, so the V-8 is a no-cost possibility there. On different trims with the standard-output six-cylinder, anticipate to pay as much as $1,200 for the improve.
To differentiate the Hemi-equipped vehicles, Ram is introducing a singular “Image of Protest” badge that encompasses a ram’s head positioned on the entrance of a Hemi block. You’ll discover it on the entrance fenders, signaling this truck means enterprise. The Hemi configuration gives 1,750 kilos of payload capability and might tow as much as 11,470 kilos, sustaining its fame as a workhorse.
Bringing the V-8 again wasn’t simple. When Kuniskis rejoined Ram in December, he pushed exhausting to make it occur, however the engineering staff was initially advised it could take 18 months to make the engine work with the brand new electrical structure launched for the 2025 mannequin. That structure was designed with future electrified fashions just like the Ram 1500 Rev and Ramcharger in thoughts, not a decades-old V-8.
Enter Daryl Smith, the previous SRT chief engineer, who was tapped to guide a particular skunkworks-style group codenamed F15. That staff found out methods to combine the Hemi in simply six months. Kuniskis hinted that Smith’s SRT background wasn’t only a coincidence, suggesting this staff might be tasked with greater than only one engine comeback.
Ram isn’t finished but. In April, Kuniskis introduced the model would unveil 25 merchandise over the subsequent 18 months. Amongst them is a long-anticipated mid-size truck, and followers are nonetheless holding out hope for the return of the TRX. Whereas the high-output RHO was launched final yr, Ram was clear it wasn’t a direct alternative for the TRX. As for when that beast could return, the corporate is staying quiet for now.
For these craving huge energy, there’s nonetheless one possibility on the horizon. The supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 Hellcat engine lives on within the 2026 Durango Hellcat. If Smith and his staff can carry again the Hemi in six months, possibly they’ll do the identical for the Hellcat-powered Ram 1500.
For now, V-8 lovers can breathe a sigh of aid. The Hemi isn’t lifeless. Not but.
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