Not everything is going full-on electric. Stellantis, mainly Dodge, Ram, and Jeep, have pressed on with big-ass engines with terrible mpgs in nearly everything. From the 6.4-liter V8 used in every Scat Pack Charger/Challenger, Wagoneer, and Wrangler Rubicon 392, to the Hellcat-powered Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and Ram TRX, they’re big on making fuel-thirsty monsters. You’d think with the current EV push that vehicles of those size (and their engines) would be on their way out. But revealed in an interview with Motor Authority, it sounds like Ram TRX will be sticking around for a while.
Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr. spoke with Motor Authority at the New York Auto Show last week, about the future of the brand. One of the most interesting parts of their conversation was that Koval admitted the TRX will be around past 2023:
The current plan, according to Koval, calls for the TRX to not only exist beyond 2023, but exist in its current form. The executive wouldn’t disclose why the TRX will get to live on beyond when the Hellcats go extinct. At that point, it will theoretically become the only vehicle with the supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat V-8 as the Charger and Challenger model Hellcats will fade away after 2023, and the Jeep Trackhawk and Dodge Durango Hellcat are already gone.
It wasn’t clear though if the TRX would remain Hellcat-powered. It could, in theory, as it’s already a niche vehicle. Or an all-new engine could power it, specifically the new turbocharged Hurricane I6. Or it could go the EV route, though that could pose a challenge with range and weight. The TRX already weighs nearly 6,500 pounds. A battery back could add at least another 1,000 or so pounds.
Koval also revealed that a Ram EV is coming in 2024; a gas-powered Ram model with a range extender is coming soon as well.
According to Koval, the range-extended Ram will “have everything a BEV (the electric Ram) does but more,” in reference to capability and more importantly, range. Range is a key concern of customers and the range-extender is meant to address that, specifically when towing or hauling a load.
Oh, and don’t expect to see an I4 under the hood of a Ram truck anytime soon. While GM has thrown turbo I4’s under the hood of Silverados and Sierras, Koval gave a resounding “no” to whether or not a Ram could get a smaller engine.