Now that the Ram 1500 Hemi V8 is back, we’re pitching it against the popular Ford F-150!
While automakers have eagerly downsized their car engines over the past several years (though we’re seeing a reversal there, too), the phenomenon only really came to a head in truck world when Stellantis decided to completely drop Hemi V8 options from its Ram 1500 lineup. No more TRX, and not even a standard 5.7-liter Hemi for folks who just flat-out don’t want the 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six. Well, fast-forward a year or so, and we have a markedly different picture today. The Hemi V8 is back, and we’re testing it out as part of the revamped Ram 1500 lineup in this Warlock over the next couple weeks. Of course, that includes a drag race — because that’s how we roll around here!
In the video below, Andre and Kase go head-to-head in the 2026 Ram 1500 Warlock as well as a V8 equivalent you know all too well. Our Ford F-150 Tremor, being part of the best-selling half-ton truck lineup in America, made an obvious sparring partner for this drag strip duel.
Fundamentally, neither powertrain has changed from previous iterations. Ford’s 5.0-liter Coyote V8, for its part, continues to put out 400 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque, mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. And while Ram did have to make some updates to the 5.7-liter, eTorque-equipped Hemi V8 to adapt it to the updated truck’s architecture, it does still put out the 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque through an 8-speed automatic.
What are the results, then? Actually, they’re closer than you might think, at least off the line (watch below to see the whole test):
Drag race and MPG results
With Kase driving the Ram 1500 Warlock and Andre driving the Ford F-150 Tremor, here are the results from our drag races at a mile above sea level. In the first race (from a standing start), the Ram 1500 clocked a 16.72-second quarter-mile at a speed of 86.6 mph.
Unfortunately for the Warlock, Andre managed a quarter-mile time in the Ford F-150 of 16.38 seconds at 89.3 mph. Even in the second rolling race, the Ford still managed to just beat out the Hemi-powered Ram. That said, it’s still within a truck length and while the results may be disappointing for the few who plan to drag race their truck, most folks will be elated there’s a Ram 1500 Hemi option against Ford’s Coyote V8 and GM’s 6.2-liter L84 5.3-liter and L87 6.2-liter V8s at all.
The guys also ran an MPG loop on both trucks, with some surprising results. The Hemi eTorque-equipped Ram, being a mild hybrid, did manage to pull out a result of 21.4 mpg in a short 41.5-mile loop. The Ford, on the other hand, managed a less impressive (but not terribly surprising) result of 18.3 mpg* (*Andre uses ‘41.7’ in the calculation in the video; correcting for that figure against the 41.5-mile figure Kase used yields a result of 18.3 rather than 18.4, though either figure would be within margin-of-error).
Let us know what you think about the revived Ram 1500 Hemi and this race with the F-150 Tremor below.
