Ram unveils lineup of Hemi V-8 engine-powered ‘muscle trucks’ despite high gas prices

Ram unveils lineup of Hemi V-8 engine-powered 'muscle trucks' despite high gas prices

• Stellantis plans to launch a lineup of "muscle trucks" for its Ram brand despite high gas prices.
• The automaker said the Rumble Bee pickup trucks will feature V-8 engines, special parts and designs, and a range of performance specifications.
• A top-end SRT Hellcat model with a 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V-8 engine will feature 777 horsepower and a targeted top speed of 170 miles per hour.

DETROIT — Stellantis plans to launch a lineup of what it's calling "muscle trucks" for its Ram brand despite high U.S. gas prices due to the Iran war.

The automaker on Wednesday said the Rumble Bee pickup trucks will feature V-8 engines, special parts and designs, and a range of performance specifications.

A top-end SRT Hellcat model with a 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V-8 engine will feature 777 horsepower, a targeted top speed of 170 miles per hour and other metrics that rival some sports cars.

"This is absolutely a 'hold my beer,' watch this, push the chips in moment," Ram boss Tim Kuniskis said before a truck sped by him during a media event at the company's Chelsea Proving Grounds in Michigan. "Welcome to the era of muscle trucks."

Despite nationwide average gas prices of $4.56, Kuniskis said he believes it's a "critical" time to launch the trucks as full-size pickup trucks have expanded into luxury and off-road segments. He also said there's a lack of traditional muscle car offerings as Stellantis and other automakers have focused on all-electric vehicles.

"We chased electrification, and that tide changed. This tide will change as well," he told reporters after the trucks were revealed. "I would like to believe by the time this thing's sitting on a showroom floor, I would like to believe that the gas prices will be back in line."

Kuniskis also noted that while the volumes of its highest performance models typically make up a small portion of sales, they're generally "three times the margin than an average vehicle" and act as halo products to bring attention to the brand.

"It's still great, great business, but that's your ultimate halo effect to sell the other ones," he said.

Halo vehicles are often iconic products that are unique in design and feature high-performance parts. They're regularly used to attract attention to a car nameplate or brand.

Kuniskis declined to disclose volume expectations but said the company should be able to "easily" recover its investments in the new trucks, which share many components with the brand's current trucks with specific performance parts added.

Stellantis did not release pricing for the trucks, which are expected to arrive in U.S. dealerships beginning this fall. Kuniskis compared pricing for an "entry-level" 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 muscle truck to a "well-equipped" current Big Horn model that can top $60,000 and said the SRT model could be a new halo alongside the $100,000 TRX off-road performance truck.

The new muscle trucks, which will be quad cabs with smaller backseat doors than most full-size pickups sold in the U.S., will be built at Stellantis' plant in Saltillo, Mexico.

The lineup will launch with the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 model later this year, followed by the Rumble Bee 392 and Rumble Bee SRT during the first half of 2027.

S&P Global auto analyst Stephanie Brinley said she doesn't believe Ram will sell major volumes of the muscle trucks, but she thinks they should be able to bring attention to the brand, specifically in retaining current customers.

"The SRT is kind of a nice counterpoint to the off-road version, but, again, that's not gonna be high volume," she said. "The combination of having it all can drive some excitement into the brand."

Kuniskis, who also oversees the company's other U.S.-focused brands, has become well known for using high-performance models as marketing tools to attract attention to brands, like when he introduced Hellcat models to Dodge.

Performance trucks aren't new to the automotive industry, but they've often been short-lived. Ram, formerly a part of Dodge, has off-road performance trucks such as the Rebel and TRX. It also previously offered Rumble Bee models and a pickup roughly 20 years ago that shared a V-10 engine with the company's then-Dodge Viper sports car.

"There is no market research that's going to tell you what we're doing is a good thing. It's not even a safe bet. … It's been done before and it has never worked," Kuniskis said during the event. "But we think the last time it was done the strategy was not right."

The muscle truck lineup was announced on the eve of Stellantis' first investor day under CEO Antonio Filosa. It's also the first investor day for Kuniskis since his return last year to the automaker after a seven-month "retirement."

Stellantis' investor day is expected to focus regionally on key brands such as Jeep and Ram in the U.S. and Fiat and Peugeot in Europe, detail how executives plan to reduce costs and lay out how the company aims to return to profitability following a net loss of 22.3 billion euros (US$26.3 billion) last year.

Filosa has been touting the return of Ram's Hemi V-8 engine that was canceled under former CEO Carlos Tavares as a positive catalyst for investors despite high gas prices in the U.S.

Kuniskis said Hemi production continues to increase, but demand is still outpacing supply.

"It's ramping up; it's not where we need it to be yet," he said, adding that the mix is "significantly better" than where it was at the beginning of this year.

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