- Ram has re-introduced the Hemi V8 to the 1500 as an option in the USA.
- The Hemi was replaced by the new Hurricane twin-turbo straight six in 2023.
- The complexities of the local remanufacturing process means the Hemi won't get here any time soon.
Ram is considering a V8 comeback for Australasia’s best-selling full-sized American ute, which might include the return of the TRX high-performance flagship.
Already back on sale in North America, after being dropped for a new 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder petrol engine dubbed Hurricane when the facelifted DT range was unveiled in late 2023, the old Hemi V8 is now an option for the 2026 1500 in the USA and Canada.
So, a return to V8-loving Australasia would be a logical choice, right?
According to Ram Trucks Australia and New Zealand General Manager Jeff Barber, the path back to the Hemi – even just as an option for local buyers – is not that easy, meaning that, even if green lit by Stellantis for local remanufacturing in Melbourne, there could be a wait of up to two years, or more.
Along with actually being made available for us by Ram Trucks in the USA, there must be sufficient call for a V8 option from local buyers, as well as enough profitability in tooling up for a second engine line at both the Walkinshaw Automotive Group factory in Melbourne that remanufactures the 1500 from left- to right-hand drive as well as the suppliers of the unique parts required to do so.
“The inline six, or the Hurricane is going incredibly well,” Barber told journalists at the 1500 Rebel launch in Melbourne late last month. “We see that as the future.
“If, at some point in the future, we are offered a Hemi, and there is consumer demand for it, and there is a solid business case, then we'll have a look at it. No guarantees.”
Barber admitted that we wouldn't see a Hemi V8-powered DT Series II until 2027 at the earliest, and that nothing at this stage has been confirmed.
“Any decision like that takes a long time to consider and to reach the market,” he said. “So, nothing in the next couple of years, that’s for sure.”
With Ram 1500 sales down nearly 14.5 per cent year-on-year to the end of August (1877 versus 2191 units across Australia and New Zealand), it might be tempting to conclude that the discontinuation of the V8 might be a key factor.
But Barber points to a softening of the $100K-plus ute market in general (F-150 and Silverado volumes also slipped, by 62 per cent and 7.2 per cent respectively), adding that there are still hundreds of unsold V8 models dotted around dealer forecourts, suggesting that Ram buyers are responding positively to the performance, economy and driveability benefits that the latest 1500 Hurricane models offer over their Hemi predecessors.
“We're down because the segment's down,” he explained. “We're down because we lost DS (the previous-generation 1500 Express price leader that was famously promoted from AU$79,990 drive-away at one point).
“And we're also at a point of change at the moment, where we're running out of the MY23 and MY24 models and bringing a whole new range of product… Hurricane SO (Standard Output), Hurricane HO (High Output, for the current flagship 1500 Limited), Rebel and a few months from now, 2500 and 3500 models.
“That's part of why we see ourselves down by now. We're not concerned about it.”
One thing that is certain is the desire to bring back a TRX-style range topper back, to restore a Ford Ranger Raptor-like high-performance flagship to the 1500 range.
With its 523kW/882Nm Hemi supercharged V8 and $200,000-plus introduction price, the pre-facelift DT version proved more popular than anticipated.
“At some point (the TRX may be reintroduced to Australia and New Zealand),” Barber revealed.
“The TRX did incredibly well here. We thought the air was incredibly thin up there. But we sold 983 units between Australia and New Zealand, and our counterparts in the US can't believe we sold that many.
“So, yes, it was a very significant model to us. There is speculation around the world as to what might happen with that. I don't want to talk to that speculation.”
- Byron Mathioudakis, contributing journalist