The Ram brand is changing. The last of the V8 interceptors are here, under the hoods of the 2024 model years of Stellantis’ subsidiaries. The Hemi is going away. The TRX is going extinct. There is gnashing of teeth and bawling of eyes, but change is a necessary step to embrace the future. Stellantis is putting both feet forward to not only improve its standing with the EPA but also attempt to solidify the balance between an emissions-compliant truck brand and an efficient offering of both power and utility for consumers. That leaves the 2025 Ram 1500 without its beloved Hemi.
The new line-up of engines set to spearhead performance powertrains under the Stellantis umbrella will adopt the Hurricane moniker. It’s a high-performance engine that forfeits two cylinders in favor of improved fuel efficiency and lowered emissions. What exactly does that mean for the Ram, and what can we expect from the 2025 model year when looking for Ram trucks for sale? There is good news for those of you eager to find out how Ram will embrace a post-V8 automotive culture, and how it will still provide high-end utility and functionality for those who use the trucks for work purposes.
Goodbye Hemi, Hello Hurricane
First, it was the Magnum V8 and V10 that helped define the second generation of Ram trucks back during the 1990s. Ram set the stage with the 1500 series being a performance powerhouse on the market, and it helped shoot the Ram trucks straight up the sales charts. Later, Ram became defined by the hemispherical eight-cylinder known as the Hemi V8. This would help define newer generations of the Ram for those who valued power, performance, and utility out of the Ram 1500 series of light-duty pickup trucks. All of that is now coming to an end, and the generational history of powerful V8 engines that helped define the Ram is about to get the curtain call.
For the 2025 model year, Stellantis has made it known that the Hurricane I-6 will now spearhead the powertrain line-up for Ram trucks moving forward. It will replace the Hemi options in the line-up, meaning no more Eagle and no more Hellcat powertrains. The Pentastar will remain part of the Ram full-size truck brand, continuing the tradition of being an entry-level V6 option, which it has maintained since the third generation of Ram trucks. With the Pentastar, there is the eTorque feature for mild hybrid functionality, so this helps to keep the Ram in line with the ever-constricting emissions standards.
Rocking You Like Two Hurricanes
Stellantis announced that there isn’t just one Hurricane, but two Hurricanes that will be available for the 2025 Ram 1500. That marks an interesting turn of events for those worried about whether the full-size Ram pickup will keep its high-performance edge that it’s known for. It will, but not quite in the way you think.
The two available Hurricane powertrains are both I-6 in design. The base is a 3.0L Hurricane turbocharged I-6 that makes 420 horsepower and 469 lb-ft of torque. While it may not seem like an upgrade over the Hemi V8, it actually has better horsepower and torque specs than the 5.7L Hemi Eagle V8 with eTorque, which topped out at 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque. The 3.0L Hurricane is also mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, just like the Hemi.
The second Hurricane engine is also sized at a 3.0L displacement, but it’s a high-output twin-turbo I-6 that makes 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque. Like its Hurricane sibling, it’s also mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. However, the high-output Hurricane doesn’t quite measure up to the 6.2L supercharged Hemi V8, which was stuffed into the Ram 1500 TRX, making 702 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. However, the high-output Hurricane still offers some impressive specs for its size.
How the Hurricane Powertrain Affects the Trim Lineup
With all-new powertrain specs and the dissolution of the TRX trim, one has to question how the trim line-up for 2025 will be affected. Mostly, it is staying the same. Note that “mostly” doesn’t mean “exactly.” While many of the trims from the outgoing model year will return, there is a significant shake-up when it comes to certain trims.
For the 2025 model year, the Ram now starts with the Big Horn, and is followed by the Laramie, Rebel, Limited Longhorn, Limited, and the all-new Tungsten. You might notice that there has been some rearranging with the trim offerings, with the Tungsten now being the rugged, top-of-the-line trim. The Tradesman and Tradesman HFE have been axed from the line-up.
There is one other special trim worth mentioning, The RHO is the replacement for the now-retired TRX, which was the special high-performance off-road trim for the previous iteration of the Ram 1500. The RHO offers off-road tuned performance and will make its debut during the third quarter of 2024. It will include the high-output iteration of the Hurricane twin-turbo I-6, so it will be the powertrain that delivers the top-end horsepower and torque for off-road driving, rock crawling, and hill climbing.
A Good Start for Competitive Performance
There are plenty of V8 enthusiasts who are in no way impressed with the replacements for the Hemi V8 engines. There is a serious bit of history there when it comes to the classic V8 power plants and the Ram 1500. Axing them in favor of six-cylinder blocks seems like some kind of sacrilege against the ICE kingdom. In any case, there is still a lot of headroom for the new Hurricane power plants to adapt and evolve with the Ram 1500.
Keep in mind that Ford has been doing well with their replacements for most of their V8s with the EcoBoost twin-turbo V6 engines across much of their model lineup, including the F-150. They have managed to handle towing and payload hauls quite well. Stellantis is in a position to achieve similar success with the Hurricane. In fact, if you look at the stats, the standard Hurricane matches up quite competitively with the standard 3.5L EcoBoost V6 from Ford, which makes 400 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque. The base Hurricane offers 20 more additional horsepower, even though it comes up slightly short in the torque department. But the high-output Hurricane bests the high-output EcoBoost V6, the latter of which makes 450 horsepower and 510-lb-ft of torque. The high-output Hurricane delivers 90 additional horsepower and 11 additional lb-ft of torque.
Future Iterations of the Hurricane and What They Mean for Ram
If the current specs are anything to go by, the next iteration of the Hurricane I-6 powertrains could prove to be even more competitive. Better-tuned turbos, a potential supercharged iteration of the Hurricane, or a Hurricane eTorque iteration could all come down the pipeline, adding unique opportunities for the engineers to bolster the performance of the powertrains, and by proxy, the Ram 1500’s capabilities. Right now, we’re just starting to see how the Hurricane power plants will be used for the 2025 Ram 1500 It’s already off to a good start, and hopefully, it will only get better.
