The Ram 1500 is one of the most popular and award-winning pickup trucks in America, thanks to its blend of style, technology, capability, and comfort. But for the 2025 model year, Ram is making a bold move that could shake up the truck market: it's dropping the iconic Hemi V-8 engine and replacing it with a new family of twin-turbocharged straight-six engines called Hurricane.
Why Ram Chose the Hurricane Engine Family
The Hurricane engine family is a new development from Stellantis, the parent company of Ram, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and many other brands. The Hurricane engines are designed to offer more power, more performance, and more fuel efficiency than the larger and heavier V-8 engines they replace.
The Hurricane engines are 3.0-liter straight-six units with aluminum blocks and heads, forged internals, and twin dual-scroll turbochargers. They come in two versions: a standard output (SO) version with 420 horsepower and 469 lb-ft of torque and a high output (HO) version with 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque. Both versions feature a start-stop system and are paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
According to Ram, the Hurricane engines improve acceleration and fuel economy in all conditions, but the exact numbers have not been revealed yet. However, Ram claims that the Hurricane engines are up to 15 percent more efficient than the larger engines they replace.
The Hurricane engines are also designed to fit in the same space as the V-6 or V-8 engines, which means that Ram can use the same chassis and body for the 2025 Ram 1500. This also means that the Hurricane engines can be used in other Stellantis vehicles that share the same platform.