Recently, a Stellantis executive suggested that a V8 might return to the Dodge Charger, replacing the more powerful turbo straight-six “Hurricane” motors.
Ironically the Power Wagon used a flat-head straight-six engine.
Social media pundits have proclaimed that the reason for lower Ram sales was the lack of V8 engines, never mind that prior-generation Ram V8s sat on lots for months, or that the 6.4 Hemi is still standard on the Ram 2500 and 3500—or that Ram’s chief said it was because of slow production. Inventories of the new Ram 1500 are indeed very low, while V8 Dodge Durangos are readily available en masse on dealer lots. The new Rams with Hurricane sixes have garnered quite a bit of praise from critics and normal people for their power and responsiveness.
In any case, one can still order a Ram V8, as long as it’s a “Heavy Duty” model. An informal inside source revealed to Motales that the 6.4 liter V8, in truck form, is planned for production into the 2030s, rather than being on a shortlist of dead engines. The truck Hemi is not going anywhere for quite some time, so the Ram 2500 and 3500 will continue to have V8 and diesel power. Of course, if you really want that V8 enough to switch from a Charger to a Ram 2500, be aware that it will be nowhere as fast as the six-cylinder Charger or the six-cylinder Ram 1500. The situation is somewhat akin to 1984-89, when buyers could get a V8 Dodge Diplomat or a turbocharged four-cylinder Dodge which would run rings around it.
The 5.7 Hemi, on the other hand, is definitely discontinued, and its production equipment now makes Hurricane Sixes. It does not physically fit into the Charger, and its power and economy are both lower than its replacement. That means any new Hemi engine would be quite expensive, unless Stellantis somehow shoehorned a 6.4 truck engine into the Charger, giving it fairly poor cornering to go along with its bad mileage and lower power.
The 5.7 Hemi is not the only option for a Charger V8 or Ram 1500 V8. The Ram 1500 might fit the 6.4 (at a price). The Charger is tougher, but motales has already gone over the viability of each option. The most likely would probably be a pair of Hurricane Fours stuck into a V shape with a turbocharger in the valley.
Stellantis has not done much to convince the public. It has not done a traveling show with side-by-side comparisons or “blind tests” with passengers trying to figure out which engine is which. It would not be all that hard to drag-race the V8 and Hurricane versions of a truck or Charger on camera, pointing out that the standard-output Hurricane takes regular gas while the 5.7 Hemi takes midgrade (89 octane) fuel. That’s not even getting into the high-output Hurricane, which opens up a power range not available with the old Ram 1500 V8s. Can an extra hundred horsepower make up for the “thrilling sound” of a V8? It’s up to Ram and Dodge, really, to make that case rather than having executives randomly vent to the press.
David Zatz started what was to become the world’s biggest, most comprehensive Mopar site in 1994 as he pursued a career in organizational research and change. After a chemo-induced break, during which he wrote car books covering Vipers, minivans, and Jeeps, he returned with Patrick Rall to create StellPower.com for daily news, and to set up MoTales for mo’ tales.
David Zatz has around 30 years of experience in covering Chrysler/Mopar news and history, and most recently wrote Century of Chrysler, a 100-year retrospective on the Chrysler marque.
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