RAM CEO Says "We Screwed Up" And Brings Back Hemi V8 In The 1500 Pickup

The Hemi-powered Ram 1500 is back, and it goes on sale this summer for the 2026 model year. It won't be the standard engine in the pickup, but if you're a cylinder counter and can't live without eight of them, it'll cost up to $1,200 to upgrade. Order books are open now.

 

“Everyone makes mistakes, but how you handle it defines you,” said Kuniskis. "Ram screwed up when we dropped the Hemi—we own it and we fixed it.” The brand shifted to a six-cylinder engine lineup for 2025, which buyers didn't like. 

 

The engine makes the same 395 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque as before. It also features the same eTorque hybrid system, which was "one of the ways to speed the development," according to Ram brand CEO Tim Kuniskis. "Make it exactly the way it was. That way, we don't have to do recalibrations, recertifications, and all these other things."