The V8 is enjoying a renaissance at Stellantis. The SRT go-fast division is coming back, and now the wild supercharged V8-powered Ram 1500 TRX mega-pickup is reportedly returning, too.
Mopar Insiders reports word from “well-placed sources within the company” that the 1500 TRX will enter production in late January 2026, making it the first vehicle to be launched under the resurrected Street and Racing Technology (SRT) division.
It’ll also reportedly feature the same design and technology updates rolled out to the facelifted MY25 Ram 1500 lineup, including a new-generation infotainment system.
The TRX exited production in 2023, and it closed out its run with a Final Edition that was also offered in Australia, where it was priced above $250,000 and where the locally remanufactured TRX range found almost 1000 customers.
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Calling it the Final Edition has evidently proved premature. While Ram was at the time in 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 came out of retirement late last year to take the helm at the light commercial brand once again, and has subsequently been appointed to head up Stellantis’ American brands: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, plus the SRT division.
Last month, he announced the 5.7-litre Hemi V8 was returning to the Ram 1500, calling its axing a “mistake”.
“Everyone makes mistakes, but how you handle them defines you. Ram screwed up when we dropped the Hemi – we own it and we fixed it,” he said at the time.
“We’re not just bringing back a legendary V8 engine, we’re igniting an assertive product plan and expanding the freedom of choice in powertrain for our customers.”
The Hemi V8 will now be offered alongside the Hurricane six. It’s worth noting V8s hadn’t been entirely excised from the Ram lineup, as a 6.4-litre V8 had continued to be offered in the brand’s heavy-duty pickups in markets like the US.
Mr Kuniskis was arguably the biggest supporter of the Hellcat supercharged 6.2-litre petrol V8, which in the 1500 TRX produced 523kW of power and 822Nm of torque, making it the world’s most powerful pickup when it was launched.
While that’s a healthy 120kW and 115Nm above even the High Output tune of the facelifted 1500’s Hurricane six, even if it comes back unchanged the powerful TRX will fall short of the Ford F-150 Raptor R.
The Blue Oval’s hottest pickup uses a supercharged 5.2-litre V8 producing 537kW and 868Nm.
The TRX was more than just a 1500 with a bigger engine wedged in, as it also received unique suspension tuning, adaptive Bilstein dampers, and 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in chunky 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory tyres.
Ram confirmed earlier this year it plans to make 25 product announcements in 18 months, and the revived TRX will reportedly be one of them.
However, there’s no guarantee V8 engines will return to the local Ram lineup, according to Ram Trucks Australia, which said in June that it would continue to review and evaluate what options were made available.
The company also noted customers had embraced the new Hurricane sixes, and that they remain an “integral part of Ram’s future” because they offer more power and torque along with lower fuel consumption than the 5.7-litre Hemi V8.
Ram Trucks Australia has previously indicated it takes 12-18 months to complete a local engineering program for a new model variant that will be remanufactured locally in right-hand drive.
The 1500’s facelift not only brought Hurricane six-cylinder power and aesthetic tweaks, it also saw other changes including upgraded infotainment and a new electrical architecture, which would necessitate a fresh local development program. Mr Kuniskis confirmed earlier this year the Hemi was never designed to be offered with the updated 1500’s revised electrical system.
In addition to returning V8s to the 1500, the Ram brand is going racing. It’ll return after a 13-year break to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2026.
In case you didn’t realise Ram was an American brand, it’s wrapping itself in the stars and stripes. It kicked off a ‘Never Stop Being American’ marketing campaign with an ad featuring a version of The Star-Spangled Banner and a voiceover from UFC’s Dana White.
