| Writing has been on the wall for some time now, but it looks like RAM is the first of the big three to completely drop a V8 option from their half tons:
https://www.theautopian.com/the-2025-ram-1500-kills-the-v8/
The new Ram will instead rock a 3-liter turbocharged Hurricane straight-six, initially available in two states of tune. Buyers can choose from a 420-horsepower standard output model with 469 pound-feet of torque, and a 540-horsepower High Output model with 521 pound-feet of torque. Alternatively, it can also be had with the 3.6-liter Pentastar eTorque mild hybrid V6, with 395 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque.
On a similar vein it looks like they're going to release an actual series hybrid soon as well which I believe is a first from any of the major manufacturers to utilize in a pickup. Even for cars it's a rarity as most employ a parallel hybrid setup where the engine is still mechanically connected to the wheels.
https://www.theautopian.com/the-2025-ram-ramcharger-a-tesla-sized-ba...
Underneath the 2025 Ram Ramcharger is a massive yet somewhat modest battery pack. Don’t get me wrong, it still features a substantial 92 kWh capacity (huge for a hybrid — it’s about what you’d find in some Tesla Model S variants, and bigger than any Model 3 pack), but that’s far off of the Ram 1500 REV’s 168 kWh base pack.
Still, that’s enough juice to get you an estimated 145 miles as a pure EV alone, and it’s of course plenty of juice to dish out 7.2 kW of battery bank power for tailgates, jobsites, and emergencies. Imagine running your corded tools off of this thing. Mind you, the Ram Ramcharger only runs on a 400-volt architecture, meaning DC fast charging speeds top out at 145 kW (that’ll get you “up to” 50 miles of EV range in just 10 minutes, per Ram). That so-so charging speed may sound like a bummer, but it really isn’t, because there’s another way the Ramcharger keeps moving — just fill it up with gas.
Need to tow a questionable car across three or four states? No problem, a gasoline-powered 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 has you covered so you can yank the truck’s 14,000 pounds of towing capacity without worrying too much about range. Payload capacity clocks in at 2,625 pounds, just in case you were wondering.
Oh, and did I mention that this 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 isn’t connected to the wheels in any way? Instead, it just spins a 130kW (174 hp) generator, which can recharge the batteries or dump power to the drive motors. Basically, the Ramcharger is an enormous BMW i3, just without the carbon fiber monocoque.
Just a shame it's still paired with that turd of a Pentastar engine, but if it's limited to 174 hp output maybe it'll actually be reliable. At this point I'm just afraid of what it's going to cost. |
RAM 1500 V8 is dead
