Back in 2003, a Harvard professor published a book that argued that 95% of purchases in this country are made using subconscious need rather than logic and reason. If you’re a Jalopnik reader, you know car purchases are probably closer to 100%. The roar of an engine will cause the heart to veto the mind every time, which is why when Ram buyers demanded that the company return the inefficient but growly 5.7-liter V8 Hemi engine to its trucks, the brand listened. Now, just two years after dropping the V8, customers will be able to confidently purchase a Hemi in their 2026 Ram 1500, even though the engine is inferior in performance to the Hurricane twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six that replaced the V8.
Perhaps, Ram might be a victim of its own effective advertising here. Ram dropped the V8 option in 2024, but everyone still remembers the “that thing got a Hemi?” commercial from way back in 2004. It’s to the point that Dodge referenced it when revealing the return of the Hemi to the Ram 1500. All anyone wants is that Hemi. Need the Hemi. Gotta have the Hemi. Despite the fact that the Hurricane inline-6 pumps out 540 horsepower and 541 pound-feet of torque to the Hemi’s 395 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque. You’ve got to give the people what they want, even if what they want is less efficient and less powerful. Ram is even giving the Hemi-powered trucks a new “Symbol of Protest” badge to tell its customers how right they were for wanting the V8 back.
Available on most trims
Ram will once again offer an eTorque system for the Hemi that replaces the traditional belt-driven alternator with an electric motor/generator powered by a 48-volt battery pack, making the Ram a mild-hybrid — a term guaranteed to put any Ram customer to sleep. Ram says the eTorque provides a boost of up to 130 lb-ft as well as seamless start/stop, enhanced shifts and torque generation from the get-go, and brake energy regen — all things Hemi customers care deeply about, I’m sure. That braking regen charges a 430 watt-hour lithium-ion battery stored behind the rear seat. All these powers combine to offer towing capacity of up to 11,470 pounds and maximum payload capacity of 1,750 pounds, both less than the Hurricane. The Hurricane doesn’t get any sort of hybrid system, but I doubt the availability of a hybrid is why customers will go for the Hemi.
The naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6 is still standard on Tradesman, Express, Warlock, Big Horn and Lone Star trims; the Hemi and Hurricane are optional for all of those. On the Laramie, Rebel, Limited and Longhorn the Hurricane comes standard with the Hemi being an option. The super-lux Tungsten is only offered with the inline-6, while the RHO is seemingly gonna get replaced by a V8-powered TRX again. Ram said the Hemi will be a $1,200 option on 2026 trucks, and while we don’t have the Hurricane price, it’s a $2,695 option on the 2025 trucks that don’t get it standard.
Badge of protest
CEO Tim Kuniskis says it was a mistake to drop the Hemi from Ram trucks, one that he made a priority to fix when he came back to Stellantis to head up the Ram brand after seven months away. The company estimated it would take 18 months to drop a Hemi back into the Ram 1500, but Kuniskis and Co. managed to do it in six months thanks to the expertise of the former SRT team. Instead of the traditional Hemi badge, Ram invented a “Symbol of Protest” badge, which features a Ram’s head on a V8 engine. Kinda seems like Ram is celebrating its own customers’ successful disgruntlement at the brand with this badge; pay more to protest rational business decisions of an automaker and get a weaker truck in return. Talk about heart over head, but at least the design of the badge is pretty cool. Ram retracted a totally logical decision using vaguely MAGA-style rhetoric while knocking it out of the park with badge design. Pretty clever branding if you ask me.
The move also strikes me as a possible reaction to the Dodge Charger Daytona‘s slow sales. To be fair, the Daytona is selling OK for an EV, but is not quite reaching old gas Charger levels. The sales slow-down led to Dodge cutting a base model of the Daytona. A slower, less powerful gas version of that car will go on sale later this year with the, you guessed it, Hurricane engine. It’s clear Stellantis is learning via its American brands that changing things too much on such iconic vehicles can spook legacy customers, who are the bread and butter of automotive sales. And once you lose those kind of owners to another brand, it’s expensive to get them back on your side.
