Ram TRX V-8 pickup returns for $100,000

DETROIT — Stellantis is resurrecting a V8-powered Ram pickup truck called the TRX as the company faces fewer federal emissions regulations and adopts a U.S. sales turnaround plan for its brands.

The automaker announced Thursday that the 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available in late 2026 for around $100,000. It was first produced for the 2021-2024 model years before being canceled as the company reduced emphasis on V-8 engines.

The TRX is powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged “Hellcat” gasoline engine capable of developing 777 horsepower and 680 foot-pounds of torque. The automaker calls it “the world’s fastest and most powerful production gasoline pickup truck,” capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and reaching a top speed of 70 mph.

“We needed to take it to the next level,” Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis said at a recent media event. “We’re super excited about this one coming back.”

Despite relatively low sales in the past due to the vehicle’s price, the TRX is considered a “halo” model for the brand, or a premium vehicle that draws attention to Ram and potentially boosts sales of other models. This has been a successful strategy for Kuniskis, especially with the company’s SRT performance vehicles.

The return of the TRX is the latest initiative from the brand led by Kuniskis, who has been leading a turnaround plan since retiring from the automaker a year ago.

Kuniskis aims to make more than 25 announcements by next year. So far, they have included returning to NASCAR with mechanical bull riding and a new race truck, resurrecting Hemi V-8 engines with a new “protest symbol” and removing a long-promised battery-electric version of its 1,500 truck.

The 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will start at $99,995, not including the mandatory $2,595 destination charge that pushes the price to $102,590. The initial TRX started at $71,690 in 2020, including destination.

Ram also announced Thursday a new high-output 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine for its 2027 Ram Power Wagon heavy-duty truck, developing 430 horsepower and 1,075 foot-pounds of torque.

Many of the new efforts run counter to Stellantis’ previous plans to abandon V-8 gasoline vehicles amid tougher fuel economy regulations and penalties. But those policies were either weakened or disappeared under the Trump administration.

Kuniskis said the withdrawal should help sales, but that he was “going to do it anyway” by any standards.

Kuniskis has again embraced V-8 engines, including resurrecting the TRX, as part of an effort to revive Stellantis’ U.S. sales, which plummeted under former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares from 2021 to 2024.

During this period, the automaker – formed in 2021 by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Groupe PSA – fell from the fourth-largest automaker in sales in the United States to No. 6.

Stellantis’ sales in the third quarter of last year were 6% lower than the year before. Cox Automotive expects the automaker to finish the year with 1.25 million U.S. sales, down 4.4% from 2024 and down from more than 2 million sales in 2020.

Kuniskis, who also oversees all of Stellantis’ U.S. brands, said Ram and Jeep — the automaker’s most important domestic brands — were moving “in the right direction” to capitalize on growth next year.

That could be more difficult than in the past, because auto forecasters such as Cox expect relatively flat or even declining auto sales in 2026. That means the automaker will have to win over buyers from other brands.

“It’s still a strong industry, so as long as we get our share, we’ll be fine,” Kuniskis said.

Ram isn’t the only Stellantis brand looking for a revival.

Jeep CEO Bob Broderdorf, like Kuniskis, launched a turnaround strategy for the company’s Jeep brand. Jeep has seen years of declining annual sales since hitting a sales record of more than 973,000 vehicles in 2018.

The “Jeep Reset” plan includes repositioning the brand’s prices, models and standard features, according to Broderdorf.

“This is going to be the last piece of the puzzle, I think, to reset the foundation of Jeep this year and really address what makes it special going forward,” Broderdorf told CNBC in a Dec. 16 interview. “It’s a much better Jeep.”

Kuniskis described the Jeep reset plan as “making Jeep more Jeep.”

The most recent actions essentially streamline Jeep’s product line into fewer models, more content and a pricing strategy with less overlap, from smaller vehicles such as the Compass and Cherokee to the larger Grand Cherokee and Grand Wagoneer.

“The whole Jeep lineup is better,” Broderdorf said. “I think we are laying a very strong foundation for growth for next year, in addition to the new cars.”

Upcoming new Jeeps include a resurrected Cherokee mid-size SUV as well as an all-electric Recon inspired by the brand’s iconic Wrangler off-road SUV.

2025 could be the year Jeep breaks the trend and records its first U.S. sales increase since 2018, but Broderdorf said in mid-December that the brand would be close to the goal and therefore could go either way.

Broderdorf said Jeep remained profitable despite price changes as well as declining sales under the turnaround plan.

“We will grow healthy,” he said. “I think that’s what the brand needs. We’re going to grow.”