Just last December, RAM CEO Tim Kuniskis was called out of retirement to turn around Mopar’s sagging pickup brand. The “Father of Hermes” came back with a very simple mission: give customers what they want. And Ram customer? They want V8s—even if they won’t actually buy them. Don’t try to analyze it, but if you still need proof that cars are highly emotional purchases, look no further.
Luckily for Ram, the company was still building some Hemis to supply its heavy-duty truck line, so bringing production back online was more a case of scaling back than rebuilding the whole thing from scratch. Still, the fact that Ram managed to get the Hemi Ram back into production within a year is quite impressive. It’s even more impressive that here we are, at almost the 18 month mark, and we’re no longer talking. One engines, but four: the mild-hybrid 5.7-litre, the 6.4-litre 392, the 6.2-litre Hellcat, and now the de-hybridised 5.7 (returning for both the Rumble B and standard 1500).
It helps that Ram has taken the lead on the de-regulatory push. Several months earlier, when asked during a media event whether presidential politics played a role in V8’s revival, Kuniskis said it was the change in leadership within Stellantis, rather than the US, that made all the difference. Trump’s election and subsequent gutting of CAFE rules certainly softened the position, but when asked if it was the deciding factor, Kuniskis responded firmly and concisely:
“I was going to do it anyway.”
Of course, this did not make the task any easier, but at least Ram achieved success. When the newly reorganized SRT was given the green light to bring back the TRX, the team knew it had to be more than a simple continuation of the old truck, especially since Ford had just snatched the title of most-powerful-on-gas truck with its updated Raptor R. Therefore, the number had to be more than 720. This meant that SRT’s engineers needed at least 19 horsepower. After putting their arms shoulder-deep in the parts bin, they came back with a 75.
And since the TRX is a fairly old-fashioned truck, you probably won’t be surprised that they got that power the old-fashioned way: throwing more air and fuel at it, and then revving it a little faster. This is where RedEye comes in. The old TRX had a pretty nice power curve, and its top end was limited only by breathing ability. By swapping the valvetrain with the RedEye, SRT freed up the Hellcat to rev a little higher – just 300 rpm – and keep that curve going up.
The 2.4-liter, twin-screw supercharger was massaged and fitted with a slightly shorter pulley (3.17 inches; down from 3.43 on the previous TRX), and the whole thing is fed by a new cold air intake system. A new fuel setup increased the pressure from 5 bar to 7 bar to keep the 6.2-litre running well.
The result is 777 horsepower. And yes, it’s a lot of laughs.
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