Ram Trucks Australia (RTA) has confirmed it has no current plans to reintroduce the hallowed Hemi V8 to its local pickup range, saying the brand’s new twin-turbo straight-six Hurricane engine has received positive customer and dealer feedback.
Speaking with CarExpert at the launch of the updated MY25 Ram 2500/3500 Heavy Duty lineup, RTA’s Group PR Manager Joshua Dowling said the decision rests with the Ram factory in the US, where V8-powered Ram 1500s were reintroduced earlier this year after being discontinued at the end of 2023, but the company is fully committed to the new downsized petrol powertrain.
“It’s not as simple as just switching the steering wheel to the other side,” he explained, in reference to the fact the upgraded MY25 Ram 1500 incorporates a new electrical system to support the Hurricane engine and more advanced cabin multimedia, which would require redevelopment for right-hand drive conversion in Australia.
“It’s a whole engineering program again for us, because the Hemi now has to talk to the new electrical architecture, which is why they couldn’t revive it straight away in the US. They’ve had to take some time. It wasn’t as simple as switching the factory back on.”
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Mr Dowling said there has been enormous enthusiasm for the Hemi’s return in the US, but that doesn’t guarantee Australia will see it again.
“There’s also been a massive positive reaction to the return of the Hemi in the US. They may choose to keep them all, they may not make it available to us. So as we sit here today, there’s genuinely no plan to reintroduce Hemi in Australia.”
While the Hemi name has long carried emotional weight among buyers, Mr Dowling insisted the new Hurricane six, which both more powerful and efficient than the V8 it replaces, is proving to be a better fit for modern demands.
“You’d expect me to say this, but the response to Hurricane has genuinely been awesome. Customers love it. Dealers love it. More power, more torque, better acceleration. It’s about two seconds quicker zero to 100 than the Hemi, and it’s more fuel-efficient than the Hemi. The Hurricane is definitely a part of our future, and the more people who drive Hurricane [the more they] are really falling in love with that engine.”
Paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, the twin-turbo 3.0-litre inline-six produces 313kW of power and 635Nm of torque in Standard Output (SO) form, as seen in Laramie Sport and Rebel variants, and 403kW/707Nm in High Output (HO) form, as seen in the Limited.
It replaces the long-serving 292kW/556Nm 5.7-litre Hemi V8 that joined the previous-generation DS-series Ram 1500 range in Australia in 2018. The last Hemi-powered (DT-series) Ram 1500 was remanufactured in Melbourne in December 2024.
Mr Dowling said the brand’s focus has shifted from nostalgia to modernisation, pointing to Ram’s ongoing investment in local manufacturing and engineering as proof of that direction.
“We’ve remanufactured more than 35,000 vehicles here in Australia,” he said. “There are currently around 250 production workers and 50 engineers working on the Ram Trucks Australia line, and we’re moving to a new facility in Dandenong South that will allow us to increase volume and efficiency.”
RTA is one of the few remaining operations performing full right-hand drive conversions at scale, with every vehicle re-engineered locally to meet OEM standards. The company builds each vehicle using more than 400 redesigned components, requiring around 85 hours of local labour.
Although Ram vehicles are developed and remanufactured locally by Walkinshaw Automotive – with which Ram Trucks Australia has had a long-term association – it is a Ram Trucks Australia operation.
“It is Ram Trucks Australia that does the product planning, negotiates with the factory, and manages compliance,” said Mr Dowling. “Of course we work closely with Walkinshaw and they are a trusted supplier – and we have a great working relationship with them. But they work on contract to us – as they do with other brands – to complete the work we need.”
While RTA continues to runout the Hemi-powered, entry-level MY24 Ram 1500 Big Horn for $109,950 drive-away, Aussies waiting to buy the latest Ram 1500 with a V8 engine are out of luck for the foreseeable future.