18:38 30-05-2026

Stellantis and the Hemi V8: a comeback driven by customers, slowed by production

Ram has officially returned the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 eTorque to the 2026 Ram 1500. Stellantis wants more V8s across its brands, but production capacity is the real bottleneck.

Stellantis is going back to the Hemi V8, even though it recently looked like the era of large gasoline engines at Jeep, Dodge and Ram was drawing to a close. Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis wants to see more of these engines across the group’s lineup, but right now the main constraint is production, not demand.

The headline news is already official: Ram has brought the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 eTorque back to the Ram 1500 for the 2026 model year. According to the Stellantis release, the engine delivers 395 hp and 556 Nm, and the first V8-equipped trucks reach dealers this summer. Kuniskis openly admitted that dropping the Hemi was a mistake and described its return as a direct response to customer demand.

The question now is how far this reversal will go. Stellantis wants to build more Hemi engines, but it can’t instantly plug the motor back into every model on the wish list: the plant and its suppliers need time. US media outlets are already discussing a possible V8 expansion for Jeep and Dodge, though specific versions, timing and specs remain little more than talk.

The key caveat — the Hemi is not coming back as a universal solution. Emissions rules, fuel consumption, production costs and limited capacity will all keep the lineup in check. So it’s more accurate to talk not about Stellantis fully reversing course on electrification, but about restoring a defining piece of the DNA of Jeep, Dodge and Ram.