The V8 is having fun with a renaissance at Stellantis. The SRT go-fast division is coming again, and now the wild supercharged V8-powered Ram 1500 TRX mega-pickup is reportedly returning, too.
Mopar Insiders reviews phrase from “well-placed sources inside the firm” that the 1500 TRX will enter manufacturing in late January 2026, making it the primary car to be launched beneath the resurrected Avenue and Racing Know-how (SRT) division.
It’ll additionally reportedly characteristic the identical design and expertise updates rolled out to the facelifted MY25 Ram 1500 lineup, together with a new-generation infotainment system.
The TRX exited manufacturing in 2023, and it closed out its run with a Remaining Version that was additionally supplied in Australia, the place it was priced above $250,000 and the place the domestically remanufactured TRX vary discovered virtually 1000 clients.
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Calling it the Remaining Version has evidently proved untimely. Whereas Ram was on the time within the midst of transitioning the 1500 from naturally aspirated 5.7-litre and supercharged 6.2-litre V8 engines in favour of a pair of twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre inline sixes, it has reversed course.
Former Ram boss Tim Kuniskis got here out of retirement late final 12 months to take the helm on the gentle industrial model as soon as once more, and has subsequently been appointed to head up Stellantis’ American manufacturers: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, plus the SRT division.
Final month, he introduced the 5.7-litre Hemi V8 was returning to the Ram 1500, calling its axing a “mistake”.
“Everybody makes errors, however the way you deal with them defines you. Ram screwed up once we dropped the Hemi – we personal it and we fastened it,” he stated on the time.
“We’re not simply bringing again a legendary V8 engine, we’re igniting an assertive product plan and increasing the liberty of alternative in powertrain for our clients.”
The Hemi V8 will now be supplied alongside the Hurricane six. It’s value noting V8s hadn’t been totally excised from the Ram lineup, as a 6.4-litre V8 had continued to be supplied within the model’s heavy-duty pickups in markets just like the US.
Mr Kuniskis was arguably the largest supporter of the Hellcat supercharged 6.2-litre petrol V8, which within the 1500 TRX produced 523kW of energy and 822Nm of torque, making it the world’s strongest pickup when it was launched.
Whereas that’s a wholesome 120kW and 115Nm above even the Excessive Output tune of the facelifted 1500’s Hurricane six, even when it comes again unchanged the highly effective TRX will fall in need of the Ford F-150 Raptor R.
The Blue Oval’s hottest pickup makes use of a supercharged 5.2-litre V8 producing 537kW and 868Nm.
The TRX was greater than only a 1500 with a much bigger engine wedged in, because it additionally obtained distinctive suspension tuning, adaptive Bilstein dampers, and 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in chunky 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory tyres.
Ram confirmed earlier this 12 months it plans to make 25 product bulletins in 18 months, and the revived TRX will reportedly be one in all them.
Nevertheless, there’s no assure V8 engines will return to the native Ram lineup, in keeping with Ram Vehicles Australia, which stated in June that it will proceed to assessment and consider what choices had been made out there.
The corporate additionally famous clients had embraced the brand new Hurricane sixes, and that they continue to be an “integral a part of Ram’s future” as a result of they provide extra energy and torque together with decrease gas consumption than the 5.7-litre Hemi V8.
Ram Vehicles Australia has beforehand indicated it takes 12-18 months to finish a neighborhood engineering program for a brand new mannequin variant that can be remanufactured domestically in right-hand drive.
The 1500’s facelift not solely introduced Hurricane six-cylinder energy and aesthetic tweaks, it additionally noticed different adjustments together with upgraded infotainment and a brand new electrical structure, which might necessitate a contemporary native growth program. Mr Kuniskis confirmed earlier this 12 months the Hemi was by no means designed to be supplied with the up to date 1500’s revised electrical system.
Along with returning V8s to the 1500, the Ram model goes racing. It’ll return after a 13-year break to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Sequence in 2026.
In case you didn’t realise Ram was an American model, it’s wrapping itself within the stars and stripes. It kicked off a ‘By no means Cease Being American’ advertising marketing campaign with an advert that includes a model of The Star-Spangled Banner and a voiceover from UFC’s Dana White.
