Butter Da Insider is back with more information on the heavily anticipated 2025 model year Ram 1500. The half-ton pickup truck is up for a mid-cycle refresh instead of a complete redesign. With said facelift, the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 and 6.2-liter Hellcat V8 will be discontinued.
Before going any further, hearsay suggests that Stellantis won't phase out the 6.4 anytime soon. The big-boy V8 allegedly soldiers on through the 2026 model year in the Ram HD as the heavy-duty pickup truck line's base powerplant. Even if Stellantis were to stop making the 6.4-liter HEMI, don't forget that the 6.7-liter Cummins inline-six turbo diesel is the better choice for towing.
The rumor mill further makes a case for the 6.4er being a stopgap until Stellantis rolls out the fourth-gen HEMI. This piece of gossip may hold water, especially if you remember that Ferrari was once part of Fiat Chrysler (which became Stellantis after the merger with Groupe PSA). Ferrari knows a thing or two about V8s, and its F154 twin-turbo V8 engine family could serve as the basis for the HEMI Gen 4.
On the other hand, it may be only wishful thinking. The Prancing Horse of Maranello uses a twin-turbo V6 in the 296 series and its Le Mans-winning racecar. With Euro 7 regulations just around the corner and CAFE standards requiring a fleet average of 49 miles per gallon (4.8 liters per 100 kilometers) by 2026, there is no denying that Ferrari would rather throw money at the V6 instead of its V8 and V12 engines.
Even so, the V8 and V12 won't be discontinued anytime soon. The Italian automaker is currently testing the successor to the 812 Superfast, which does have a naturally-aspirated V12 hiding underhood. As for the V8, bear in mind the Roma Spider came out in March 2023 with 612 horsepower under its belt.
Photo: Ram
As explained, it could go both ways. Turning our attention back to the 2025 model year Ram 1500, the Sterling Heights assembly plant will stop making trucks in January 2024 to retool for the facelift. Butter Da Insider's… uhm… insiders expect the refreshed 1500 to debut sometime in the first quarter, with deliveries expected to kick off in the second quarter of 2024 at the earliest.
Powered by either an updated 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 or the 3.0-liter Hurricane I6, the 2025 model year Ram 1500 isn't going to feature a V8. Care to guess which engine is going into the TRX? Of course, the high-output version of the twin-turbocharged Hurricane will take the 6.2-liter Hellcat's place. Said engine belts out 510 horsepower and 500 pound-feet (678 Nm), which is easily more than the Raptor's V6.
The standard-output Hurricane is nothing to scoff at, for it packs 420 horsepower and 468 pound-feet (635 Nm) in the 2024 Jeep Wagoneer. Moving on to transmissions, eight-speed units will be standard across the board. The TRX, however, downgrades from the 8HP95 (that supports 900 Nm or 664 pound-feet) of the Hellcat-powered 2021 to 2024 models to the 8HP75 (rated at 750 or 553 pound-feet of twist).
553 pound-feet is 53 clear of the high-output Hurricane's rating. But alas, it also means that 2025 Ram 1500 TRX owners will have to beef up said transmission in case of torque-increasing mods. Think anything between a mere ECU remap to bigger turbochargers, sports cats, and an E85 conversion.
Photo: Ram
Believed to be priced similarly to the F-150 Raptor, the I6-engined TRX will be ultimately joined by an electric TRX based on the 1500 REV. Given that Stellantis already makes three-motor electric vehicles (Maserati GranTurismo Folgore, anyone?), chances are the zero-emission TRX will have in the ballpark of 1,000 ponies to compete against the three-motor GMC Hummer EV 3X.
Butter says that all 1500s get redesigned headlights and taillights, while the Tungsten luxury trim level boasts an obscene amount of chrome garnish. The cabin's design is reportedly similar to the 1500 REV, and the TRX allegedly retains the console-mounted shifter of the 2021 to 2024 model years. A passenger-side touchscreen is also coming, and the Rebel is purportedly returning with a TRX-inspired grille.
The 2025 Ram 1500 Rebel would obviously compete against the 2024 Ford F-150 Tremor. Butter Da Insider understands that the standard-output Hurricane will have to make do, which does make sense because the Tremor cranks out either 400 horsepower and 410 pound-feet (556 Nm) with the V8 or 400 horsepower and 500 pound-feet (678 Nm) with the V6 on premium gas.
Last but certainly not least, Butter claims that Bilstein will improve the TRX's extremely capable suspension with more adjustability. As a brief refresher, the 2.5-inch Bilstein Black Hawk e2 shocks in the 2021 to 2024 Ram 1500 TRX feature remote oil and nitrogen reservoirs. Working together with four ride height sensors and three accelerometers, these shocks are rated at 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) of damping force absorption per corner. The TRX, by comparison, tips the scales at 6,396 lbs (2,902 kgs).
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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