Ram trucks and V8 engines go together like peanut butter and jelly, but the automaker dramatically changed course after the 2024 model year, cutting eight-cylinder engines from the lineup. While the new six-cylinder engines don’t lack power, customers never stopped asking for another V8, and its been rumored for a while now that Ram would soon give them their wish. New Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa has now confirmed the news.
Jeremy Korzeniewski / Autoblog
On an earnings call yesterday, he said that the “V8 engine on versions such as the Ram 1500 TRX will deliver us to additional volumes.” As Car and Driver pointed out, Stellantis hadn’t announced the V8’s return yet, leaving Filosa’s statement a bit ahead of the news cycle. The publication later reached out and received confirmation of his comments from a spokesperson.
Related: New Ram 1500 TRX Returning Sooner Than You Think
The TRX got the axe alongside the V8 engines and was replaced by the inline-six-powered RHO, but there’s no word on whether the two engines and nameplates will coexist. Ram already announced the return of the Hemi V8 in the standard 1500 pickup trucks for the 2026 model year, but the six-cylinder engines are still on offer, so we could see an I6-powered RHO and a V8-powered TRX in the lineup at some point soon.
Filosa didn’t give a return date for the TRX or its supercharged mill, but some expect a debut later in 2025 for the 2026 model year. As it did before, the truck’s supercharged 6.2-liter V8 will likely produce somewhere around 702 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, though Ram could have made improvements in the time since its discontinuation.
The move gives Ram a direct competitor to Ford’s F-150 Raptor R, which has a 702-horsepower supercharged V8 something it desperately needs to boost sales. Ram’s sister brand, Dodge, may follow a similar path. It recently introduced inline-six-cylinder engines for the previously all-electric Charger Daytona, and executives have hinted that the car could accommodate a larger gas mill.