GM rival Stellantis is phasing out the (Small Block) Hemi V8 engine as part of its plan to reduce emissions across its North American fleet. The discontinuation involves elimination of the Hemi V8 from the company’s light-duty Ram pickup trucks, and as such, Stellantis announced late in August that the supercharged Ram TRX was headed for the door, with TRX production set to conclude by the end of the 2023 calendar year. Nevertheless, Stellantis is still leaving room for a new high-performance truck dubbed Ram RHO, and now, GM Authority spy photographers have spied an RHO prototype as it was testing, seen in the following images.
As we can see, this Ram RHO prototype bears quite a few similarities to the outgoing Ram TRX, with massively flared wheel arches, a prominent hood scoop, and chunky running gear. The wide body treatment leads to a tall and imposing stance.
The front end is obscured by black vinyl camouflage and a swirling black-and-white wrap, but we can still see the high clearance hood along with the prominent intake with three amber lights.
The side shows the high ground clearance along with the wheels and rugged off-road tires, though it’s tough to say what type of rubber is being used here.
The rear end is wrapped as well, with the rear fenders, tailgate, and rear bumper all presenting the expected black-and-white swirl wrap. The rear end also shows off a pair of round exhaust pipes. At the other end of those pipes, this Ram TRX replacement is expected to cradle the Hurricane H/O, a twin-turbocharged inline six-cylinder throwing down 540 horsepower and 521 pound-feet of torque.
The new Ram 1500 RHO is expected to debut during the third quarter of the 2024 calendar year. When it does finally drop, the new Ram RHO will provide an indirect rival to GM off-roaders like the Chevy Silverado 1500 ZR2 and GMC Sierra 1500 AT4X. The most powerful engine in these is the naturally-aspirated 6.2L V8 L87, rated at 420 horses and 460 pound-feet of torque.
We should also note forget the all-electric GMC Hummer EV Pickup. Naturally, the Hummer EV will likely outperform the new Ram RHO in every category, both on and off the road, but it’s obviously missing the internal combustion engine sound.
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Comments
Removed Hellcat Option? Really Horrible Option?
The demise of the V8 is absolutely killing this hobby. The auto industry is boring AF.
It’s going to be interesting hearing a TRX with a 6 cylinder engine. What’s sad is even the new neutered version TRX has 120 more hp than GM is willing to offer in a truck. I guess our best hope is the new generation of V8’s that GM is rumored to be developing.
What’s really sad is that despite the discontinued TRX having 700 horsepower, it was still significantly slower than the Hummer EV. Yep, the dinosaur is extinct!
That’s the end for ram ..and the hummer will more then likely be like the old one big clumsy and gets stuck on everything. Pull them off crab every weekend
when is this baby and the 2024 charger coming out we’re in january 2024 now still waiting as well when is the rampage/dakota compact truck coming out
The Hummer EV out preforms the Ram in every aspect, until time to find a EV charger and wait untold hours for the Hummer to charge. I can’t wait until this woke political control of the Automotive Industry has passed!
I’m heading over to Ram Authority to read GM articles
lol Don’t forget to drop by Ford Authority for all news Toyota related!