There have been some changes at Stellantis lately. Following the departure of former CEO Carlos Tavares and the return of Tim Kuniskis as the Ram brand’s CEO, there’s been something of a tone shift back to what enthusiasts love about the American Stellantis brands. In continuing that process, the supercharged Hemi V8-powered Ram TRX is making a comeback for 2026, according to Mopar Insiders’s sources.
Mopar Insiders reports that the refreshed Ram TRX will be more powerful than the recently discontinued model, which made 702 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, good for a claimed 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. The source speculates that it could be a Hellcat engine tuned to 717 horsepower or a leftover Hellcat Redeye engine pumping out 797 horsepower.
Mopar Insiders mentioned that it’s unclear whether Stellantis will fire up production of new Hellcat engines or if it will draw from an existing stockpile that never made it into a Dodge Charger, Challenger, or Durango.
If the rumor is true, Kuniskis, as Ram’s CEO, likely has a lot to do with putting a supercharged V8 back under the hood of the Ram 1500. When he was the boss of Dodge, Kuniskis played a pivotal role in fostering the brand’s identity as a muscle car brand by spearheading the development of the SRT Hellcat and R/T Scat Pack variants of the Charger and Challenger.
If, indeed, a 2026 Ram TRX with a supercharged V8 becomes a reality, it will have no direct rival from GM. Its closest competitor will be the Ford F-150 Raptor R with its Carnivore supercharged V8 making 720 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque.
Although the Chevy Silverado 1500 ZR2 is a great off-road full-size pickup, we think it’s overdue for a Raptor-hunting variant with a seriously high output. Perhaps the Ram TRX coming back to market will give the GM the motivation it needs to make a true high-performance off-road pickup, one with a price tag and curb weight lower than that of the GMC Hummer EV.
Comments
GM continuing to fail to find the business case in 2025 that Dodge has and Ford has since 2009.
I agree 💯 my buddy bought a 2024 TRX and I have to say after riding in it and driving it. I spent the WHOLE next day trying to find one for a decent price. In 2021 they were $72k and now they are over $100k even as high as $124k!!! I can’t justify that increase. If they were around $75k I’d own one. But all the used ones around $65 to $70k right now are beat to a pulp and have over 50 to 60k miles of hard abuse on them. But I can’t explain enough how exhilarating it is to mash on the peddle of a truck that rockets the way they do. GM needs to bring a sport truck to the market with High Horspeower
I’ve been fortunate enough to own one since 2022. They are AWSOME daily drivers. $125k now is stupid high though, luckily got mine for WAY less.
That’s awesome! Glad u get to experience it everyday. I only get to when I go up and visit him and tint windows. One teuly doesn’t understand until u experience it.
LFG!!!
And we’ll be well into Great Recession 2.0 by then so none will sell. I fully expect the “Big 3” to continue cranking out overpriced nonsense all throughout the Recession until all 3 file for bankruptcy.
People who have 6 figures to blow on a supertruck are usually insulated from economic downturns.
That’s possible. Europe and China can bail them out this time for all the wasted EV money.
sit down.
another pick up ? another SUV… with so many… who cares.
I love cool trucks but it will not help Ram as they have been sold how many times in the last 30 years. Same with Ford as they are set to lose 5 Billion in Europe as sales are stagnant here.
The both need a Rav 4 that sold almost a half million units here last year. That is what pays the bills.
This is great news. Hopefully all the 1500s get the Hemi option for 2026.
Trump Effect is here, soon the charger will be a v8 setting the stage for a challenger comeback and the camaro (1982-92) (pontiac firebird type as well).
So the final last edition was a cash grab for the dealers saw $50k mark up ,the few honest dealers discounted off MSRP . me I like to see a single cab 8’ box trx so I don’t have to give everyone a ride ,it is a BA truck to drive or be in the passenger seat
GM needs to get it head out of its ass and build a performance truck. They have the hardware. They can start with the supercharged 6.2
Yep. They have the LT4 Plus in the Escalade V with the C7 ZR1’s supercharger making 680hp. So the validation work has been done. But no, all they want to do is push the Blazer EV and Lyriq/Vistiq trash.
Their EV trucks make 750 horsepower. Just sayin’ …
And weigh over 9000lbs. People aren’t cross-shopping Raptors/TRXs with the Hummer/Silverado EV. In any event the hp comment was in relation to the V8s the rivals are using.
I don think this is going to work for dodge. The hemi has had no emissions upgrade for years. It’s a non starter. This is not how to make a company survive. I call baloney to this. It’s possible they are pulling engines out of some warehouse but these engines need a modern overhaul to meet any current standards. I’m all for it but I don’t think it’s anything that is viable. Too many rules to meet. This engine is dirty from an emissions standpoint. No go or they wouldn’t have spent all the development bucks on that inline 6.
Their former CEO screwed them. He was behind their EV debacle and the 6 cylinder. I actually think the 6 cylinder is fine and a piece of the puzzle they needed, if they can fix the issue of it melting catalytic converters. But if any company needed a V8 for their customer base, it was them. He hosed them canceling the V8s completely.
Chevrolet’s response……a 3 cylinder Silverado.
Hmm, a car company giving the puplic what they want instead of giving the government what they want.