EYE OF THE HURRICANE

RAM HAS DUMPED ITS HEMI V8FOR A SIX-CYLINDER, AND IT'S COMING TO AUSTRALIA

- CHRIS COLLARD

A FEW years ago I drove a Ram Rebel 1500 from California to Tuktoyaktuk, a small Inuit settlement on the frozen shores of the Arctic Ocean. For three weeks I relished the sweet timbre of the 5.7-litre HEMI V8 as I navigated more than 11,000km of snow-covered pavement, the desolate Dempster Highway, and the famous Mackenzie River ice road. With heated seats and steering wheel (nice when it's -30°C), solid handling, and a phenomenal ABS system (100km/h to zero, no-handson-the-wheel, dead-straight full-brake stops... on the ice) I hoped the brand would never change this platform.

At the launch of the refreshed fifth-generation 1500 in Texas, I about fell out of my boots when I cracked the hood and read Twin Turbo on the engine cover. Did Ram turbo the HEMI? Not the case, my V8-loving friends. We'll get into a host of other upgrades, but the big news is that 2025 marks the end of a multi-decade run for the HEMI-powered 1500. The question is, have they buggered things up?

EYE OF THE HURRICANE

IN the HEMI V8's place will be a version of the 3.0-litre Hurricane I-6 SST (Straight Six Turbo) introduced with Jeep's Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. Scoff if we will, but this pint-sized mill outproduces the 5.7 by a stretch, churning out 313kW and 638Nm versus the HEMI'S 295kW-558Nm respectively. But curious minds want to know how they did it.