Stellantis will embrace fuel economy over the coming decade. Dodge is phasing out its V8 muscle cars after 2023. Jeep’s big SUVs are transitioning to inline-six power. And we wouldn’t be surprised to see gas-powered Ram 1500 pickups follow suit. But these dramatic shifts won’t affect the future of the Ram 1500 TRX.
Ram brand CEO Mike Koval Jr. told Motor Authority that the 700-hp plus Ram 1500 TRX would continue past 2023 and do so in its current form. If “current form” includes the 702 horsepower 6.2-liter Hellcat V8, the truck would remain perhaps the least efficient vehicle sold in America, earning just 12 mpg combined.
A looser interpretation of “current form” could mean the present truck but a different powertrain. The Ram 1500 TRX, presumably, could pair the new high-output “Twin-Turbo 510” version of the Hurricane inline-six with an electric motor to match (or even exceed) the current 702 hp output more efficiently. And — just spit-balling here — that might leave Ram room to offer a baby TRX to take on Ford’s base Raptor with just the Twin-Turbo 510.
Koval was unequivocal when asked whether the Ram 1500 would get a four-cylinder engine; it will not. So if Ram does end up offering a hybrid 1500 model — in addition to the range-extender coming with the electric — it will likely be based on the hurricane inline-six rather than using the same 2.0-liter PHEV setup as the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe. He also noted that there is no firm timeline yet for Ram to abandon combustion engines altogether.
