If you want a proper HEMI V8 in your Ram 1500 truck, good news…it’s back!
From the moment Ram introduced their updated half-ton truck to the masses with the 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six as its only option, fans and buyers weren’t just disappointed. They were pissed. The response was similar to Dodge’s decision to scrap the old Charger and Challenger siblings, and in a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater…make the new Charger all-electric. Dodge sort of capitulated in offering the Sixpack (again, with the Hurricane I-6), but Ram is going a step further: It is reintroducing the 2026 Ram 1500 with a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 powertrain.
It’s one of the major about-faces we and so many other folks were hoping after Tim Kuniskis’ return to the helm at Ram back in December. And surprisingly — especially when you look at other automakers’ fumbles in recent years — Kuniskis is candid in his approach to the whole ordeal. “Everyone makes mistakes, but how you handle it defines you. Ram screwed up when we dropped the HEMI — we own it and we fixed it.” He continues to say this plan is about “expanding the freedom of choice in powertrain for our customers”. Generally speaking, companies tend to be a lot quieter when they wave their white flags and give customers what they actually want.
How did the V8-powered 2026 Ram 1500 come to be?
It goes a little beyond just slapping the engine under the hood and calling it a day. With the mid-cycle update to accommodate the new Hurricane, Ram updated the truck’s electrical architecture (called “Atlantis High”) to suit that powertrain as well as the new STLA Frame-platformed trucks, the Ramcharger and the fully electric Ram 1500 REV. So, getting that new setup to play nice with the old 5.7-liter Hemi was at least one challenge engineers had to solve before relaunching the engine for the updated Ram 1500 DT.
Those changes aside, the 5.7-liter HEMI on offer in the 2026 Ram 1500 is essentially the same setup as the pre-facelift trucks, including the 48-volt eTorque mild hybrid system (and yes, it is the default this time — you won’t be able to spec a V8 truck without it). Like before, then, you can expect 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque mated up to an 8-speed automatic transmission, with the eTorque system briefly chipping in an additional 130 lb-ft of torque on throttle tip-in.
All 2026 Ram 1500s with the Hemi V8 also get the performance-tuned GT exhaust package, as well as a standard 33-gallon fuel tank.
Besides the belt-driven motor generator replacing the old Hemi’s standard alternator, the V8 retains a conventional starter motor for cold-weather starts. Ram still touts some efficiency measures with the eTorque system, too, including now-typical variable valve timing, cylinder deactivation (or “Fuel Saver Technology”, as Ram calls it) and a 430 watt-hour lithium-ion battery with a 3-kilowatt DC-to-DC converter to step down the 48 volts to charge the truck’s conventional 12-volt battery and power accessories, with drivers able to recharge that pack through brake energy regeneration.
Towing and payload capacities fall slightly
While Ram previously claimed up to 12,750 pounds of towing capacity for Quad Cab 4×2 models equipped with the 5.7L eTorque and the Max Towing Package with a 10-inch axle and 3.92 rear axle ratio, that no longer appears to be the case here. According to the brand’s official statement, HEMI-equipped 2026 Ram 1500 models now top out at 11,470 pounds of towing capacity. That figure falls more or less in the same ball park as 2024 model year V8 models without the Max Tow Package, give or take about 100 pounds.
Payload is a similar story. This time around, the 2026 Ram 1500 with the Hemi V8 maxes out at 1,750 pounds of payload capacity, according to the company’s official statement. That said, Ram did not go into too many details on why the figures are different (yet), and we don’t have a full breakdown of towing/payload specs for model year 2026 yet, so those figures could vary a bit depending on how you configure your specific truck.
Ram has a new badge to let everyone know you have a HEMI, too
Hey, that thing got a Hemi? Well, 2026 Ram 1500 buyers won’t have to throw down to let people know (even if they totally will). In addition to the badge on the hood, each new Hemi truck will have this badge on the fender: the “Symbol of Protest”. The brand’s design team created a new look with the Ram’s head canted forward, powered by (what else?) a rip-snorting Hemi V8 with appropriately huge exhaust pipes.
The 5.7-liter Hemi V8 will be available across most of the 2026 Ram 1500 lineup, with the exception of the RHO and the top-end Tungsten — both of which still get the high-output 3.0-liter Hurricane with 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque as their sole powertrain option. Basically, you’ll be able to get the V8 on any trim where the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 or the standard-output Hurricane is available or the default.
On Tradesman, Express, Warlock, Big Horn/Lone Star and Laramie trims, the Hemi V8 will be a $1,200 option above and beyond the 3.0-liter S.O. On Limited and Limited Longhorn trims, it’s available as a no-cost upgrade.
The 2026 Ram 1500 with the Hemi V8 is available to order right now, with trucks actually hitting dealerships this summer. The Hemi V8 will also return to the Ram 1500 Rebel (as an added-cost option), but Ram says it will be “late availability”, with no further clarification at the moment. Considering this is a 2026 model and we don’t have exact pricing information for the rest of the lineup yet, it’s a bit tricky to pin down exact pricing for V8 models at the moment. That said, prices for 3.0-liter S.O.-equipped Tradesman models start at about the mid-$40,000 range including destination, so Hemi trucks should run a bit higher MSRP than that.
On this whole ‘V8’ front, Ram did not mention reviving the 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat engine for a new TRX. If you were hoping for that…sorry, but we unfortunately don’t have any news to share there. Kuniskis and the Ram brand have mentioned there will be at least 25 product announcements over the next 18 months or so. One of those announcements could be a new super truck to accompany the RHO, but as ever, we’ll have to wait and see. Something tells me Ram’s new-old-guard head honcho isn’t going to sit back and let the Ford F-150 Raptor R smugly sit on its performance throne too much longer.
