Ram TRX could swap supercharged V8 for twin-turbo six – report
The Hemi V8 is coming to the end of its days, but a question mark remains over what engine will replace it in the Ram 1500 TRX – currently the fastest pick-up in the world.
A new twin-turbo inline six-cylinder is increasingly likely to replace the iconic Hemi V8 across Ram, Jeep, and Dodge brands – and the Ram 1500 TRX, the world's fastest V8 pick-up – according to fresh reports out of the US.
In March 2022, Stellantis – the parent company of Ram, Jeep, and Dodge, among other brands – unveiled its new 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder engine known as the 'Hurricane', available as a standard-output (SO) variant with 313kW and 635Nm, and a high-output (HO) version with 380kW and 678Nm.
However, those performance figures fell short of the flagship Ram 1500 TRX's 523kW and 882Nm produced by its supercharged 6.2-litre Hemi V8.
According to a report by respected industry journal Automotive News, the person in charge of engines at Stellantis now says the new Hurricane engine has a third option.
"We have more power. We just haven't released it yet," Michael Bly, the head of global propulsion systems, told Automotive News.
Earlier this month, Drive's spy photography agency in the US caught a new-generation Ram 1500 TRX on camera – with those behind the lens claiming the pick-up had lost its distinctive V8 exhaust note and instead had a six-cylinder soundtrack.
As reported at the time, unconfirmed reports suggest the Hurricane six-cylinder engine could be in line to get a high-performance version producing 410kW and 678Nm thanks to the assistance of a mild-hybrid system, though that too would fall short of today's supercharged V8.
"One of the things that was very clear was that we had some engines that were not performing well on our CO2 road map," Mr Bly told a conference in Detroit.
"We could fix some of those things with [mild and plug-in hybrids, but] the Hemi (V8) doesn't have all the attributes we needed. We could go and redo the Hemi, but we realised we needed to downsize the engine and bring up the power."
Local testing by Drive with the supercharged V8-powered Ram 1500 TRX found it returned average fuel-consumption ratings of approximately 17 to 18.8 litres per 100 kilometres – an area the US pick-up could improve with a smaller-capacity engine and hybrid assistance.
While all signs are pointing to more efficient six-cylinder models from Ram Trucks, the company has already announced it is ending production of the Hemi V8 at the end of 2023.