He(mi) Is Risen! Ram Resurrects Famed V-8 Option for 2026 1500 Pickups
Reports of the demise of the popular Hemi V-8 engine at Ram brand have been greatly exaggerated. Well, that’s not actually entirely true — Ram’s parent company, Stellantis, did kill off the engine for the 2025 model year, switching its full-size pickup trucks over to six-cylinder engines only. But the fan outcry was loud and the projected customer retention situation alarming, so new Ram brand boss Tim Kuniskis (who had left the company but was brought back in December to helm the truck brand) took action. The result: You can now order your 2026 Ram 1500 with an optional Hemi V-8 engine, with deliveries starting in the summer.
Related: 2025 Ram 1500 Review: The Hemi Is Dead, But You’re Gonna Be OK
From the first day of his tenure, Kuniskis knew bringing back the storied Hemi, which Ram and Dodge had built so much of their current mythos around, was a necessity. The problem was that the reengineered 2025 Ram 1500 wasn’t designed for it, and engineers told him it would take 18 months to get the V-8 engine back into trucks and rolling down production lines. Unsatisfied with that answer, Kuniskis brought in the former head of SRT, the Street and Racing Technology team, a skunkworks-style group that acted like the old Chrysler Corp.’s version of BMW M or Mercedes-Benz AMG and was responsible for things like the Dodge Viper supercar and high-performance versions of the Challenger and Charger. This was someone used to making big things happen on compressed timelines. Lo and behold, that 18-month estimate was brought down to just six months.
Powertrain Specs, Pricing and Availability
The Hemi will come one way: a 5.7-liter V-8 with the 48-volt eTorque mild-hybrid system that boosts initial acceleration and aids efficiency. Exactly the same powertrain setup that was in the last-generation Ram 1500, the Hemi produces 395 horsepower and 410 pounds-feet of torque and comes with variable valve timing and cylinder deactivation.
The V-8 will be available on every grade of Ram 1500 except the RHO (for now) and top Tungsten trims, which sticks with the High Output 3.0-liter SST engine (and if you want a Hemi in the off-road Rebel trim, that’ll be coming later in the year). It will be a $1,200 extra-cost option above the Standard Output 3.0-liter SST engine, itself a $1,695 option on the Tradesman, Express, Warlock and Big Horn/Lone Star trims; it will be a no-cost option on the Limited/Longhorn trims, which already come with a High Output SST engine standard.
The Hemi will be accompanied by a standard GT Sport Exhaust for extra loudness, which is something Ram says its customers list as a big reason for getting the engine. The maximum towing capacity of a Hemi-equipped truck will be 11,470 pounds, with a max payload of 1,750 pounds, depending on trim and options. There will not be a “Hemi” badge on the truck, however; instead, there’s a new “Symbol of Protest Badge” on the fenders that combines a stylized ram’s head slapped on the front of a V-8 engine.
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It’s Not the Top Powertrain
It should be noted that the Hemi V-8’s output is actually less than the new 3.0-liter SST motors that replaced it in the lineup for 2025.
“We’re going after the cylinder counters,” Kuniskis told the media at a recent press briefing when asked who the resurrected Hemi engine was aimed at. “They want a Hemi, they want a V-8, they want a sound. Strictly talking performance, the [straight-six engine] is better; you’ll get more torque with the Standard Output engine and a lot more with the High Output one.”
The 3.0-liter S.O. engine makes 420 hp and 469 pounds-feet of torque, outgunning the Hemi, and the H.O. version makes a whopping 540 hp and 521 pounds-feet of torque. In fact, it was the high-output version of the SST engine that helped the 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten win our last three-way luxury pickup comparison test; we loved it for its power, smoothness, refinement and quietness, all traits the Hemi V-8 is frankly not known for. We said the only thing you’ll miss about the Hemi is the noise it makes.
It will be interesting to see what the take rate is for the V-8 given it will be a nearly $3,000 option on most variants and its only real, tangible benefit will be to change how the truck sounds. SST-equipped trucks will be quicker, more capable, smoother and better to drive, while Hemi-equipped trucks will be louder, brasher and more in-your-face. That is apparently exactly what current Ram owners want it to be — and what the new Ram bosses have decided to give them.
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