The Ram 1500 has won many industry awards over the years. Most recently, it received the top spot in the JD Power 2026 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, in the Large Light Duty Pickup segment. It got top marks for capability, comfort, technology and performance.
“The Ram 1500’s No. 1 finish comes straight from the people who know our trucks best — our customers,” says Tim Kuniskis, head of American brands and North America marketing, Stellantis North America. “They know what they want from a truck, and they know when one delivers. With the HEMI back, TRX now shipping to customers and Rumble Bee on the way, Ram is giving them more choice, more attitude and more reasons to be excited.”
The biggest changes to the Ram 1500 for the next model year are the addition of performance oriented, muscle truck models to the lineup.
RUMBLE BEE
The Rumble Bee is a modern take on the on-street muscle trucks from years gone by. All Rumble Bee models offer a Quad cab with five-foot and seven-inch bed and widebody. Rumble Bee can tow up to 8,890 pounds and has a payload capacity of up to 1,160lbs.
“There was a time when pickup trucks were considered work vehicles,” says Kuniskis. “Today, Ram has a truck for every customer, from the work-ready Tradesman to full-blown luxury in Tungsten. That kind of range makes it hard to predict the second vehicle for a customer. But, for muscle car owners, data proves it’s a pickup and the connection has been staring us in the face since the era reignited almost two decades ago. Somehow, the idea of muscle trucks was labeled unnecessary, but since that describes so many products that captivated enthusiasts’ hearts, minds and wallets, Ram is going all-in, pushing for the last 10th with a full range of Rumble Bee muscle trucks.”
The base Rumble Bee offers a 5.7L HEMI V-8 with 395hp and 410 lb/ft of torque. Moving up to the 392 models, the engine is the 6.4L HEMI V-8 with 470hp and 455 lb/ft of torque. At the top end, the Rumble Bee SRT is the considered the most powerful street performance V-8 pickup truck with a 6.2L supercharged HEMI V-8 with 777hp and 680 ft/lb of torque, can reach speeds of 170 mph and can get from 0 to 6o in 3.4 seconds.
OTHER CHANGES
The performance off-road oriented Ram 1500 TRX SRT returns with a 6.2L HEMI V-8 offering 777hp and 680 ft/lbs of torque, along with a huge list of off-road enhancing features.
“The original TRX set the benchmark for performance trucks and bringing it back wasn’t enough, the team had to grind for the last 10th,” says Kuniskis. “This is pure American performance and ingenuity built with pride by our team at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan.”
Ram 1500 RHO models now offer a new Popular Equipment Group that includes the 14.5” Uconnect 5 reconfigurable touchscreen and premium 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system; and a new tailgate badge.
Other models offer standard equipment, package, and color changes for 2027.
ENGINES AND CAPABILITY
Across the entire model range of the 1500 are a wide selection of engines: starting with the 3.6L Pentastar V-6 eTorque hybrid offering 305hp and 269 lb/ft of torque; 5.7L HEMI V-8 with 395hp and 410 lb/ft of torque, 5.7L HEMI V-8 eTorque hybrid with 395hp and 410 lb/ft of torque; 3.0L Hurricane SO Twin-Turbo I-6 with 420hp and 469 lb/ft of torque; 3.0L Hurricane HO Twin-Turbo I-6 with 540hp and 521 lb/ft of torque; 6.4L HEMI V-8 with 470hp and 470 lb/ft of torque; and 6.2L supercharged HEMI V-8 with 777hp and 680 lb/ft of torque. All engines are paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Depending on which engine option you choose, the torque and payload number will vary. The Ram 1500 with 3.6 V-6 eTorque has up to 8,100lbs max towing and up to 2,340lbs max payload. The 5.7L HEMI V-8 has up to 8,890 lbs towing and up to 1,150lbs payload. The 5.7L HEMI V-8 eTorque has up to 11,370lbs towing and up to 1,680lbs payload. The 3.0L Hurricane SO has up to 11,530lbs towing and up to 1,880lbs payload. The 3.0L Hurricane HO has up to 9,480lbs towing and up to 1,530lbs payload. The 6.4L HEMI V-8 has up to 7,460lbs towing and up to 1,160lbs payload. Finally, the 6.2L HEMI V-8 has up to 8,580lbs towing and up to 1,140lbs payload.
CONFIGURATIONS
For 2027, the Ram 1500 comes in the following configurations: in 4×2 or 4×4; with availability as Quad Cab with five-foot and seven-inch bed, widebody (4×4 only); Quad Cab with six-foot and four-inch bed; Crew Cab with five-foot and seven-inch bed; Crew Cab with 5-foot and 7-inch bed, widebody (4×4 only); and Crew Cab with six-foot and four-inch bed.
MODEL LINEUP
Ram offers a plethora of model/trim choices for those wanting to get into a 1500. They are grouped into four categories (core, off-road, premium, and muscle trucks). Core includes Tradesman, Express/Black Express, Big Horn/Lone Star, and Laramie. Off-road offers Warlock, BackCountry, Rebel, RHO, and TRX SRT. Premium includes Limited/Longhorn, and Tungsten. While Muscle Trucks are four versions of the Rumble Bee (regular, 392, 392 track pack, and SRT).
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Ram 1500 offers five-link coil rear suspension, active-leveling air suspension, RamBox cargo management system with other bed features (relocatable anchor points, LED lighting, bed divider and multifunction tailgate with center bed step), and towing technology (including fully digital rearview mirror with tow mode, trailer reverse steering control, blind-spot monitoring with trailer tow detection system and power trailer-tow mirrors with adjustable convex auxiliary mirrors.
Available 14.5” Uconnect 5 touchscreen, 10.25” passenger screen, 12.3” digital instrument cluster, digital rearview mirror, and full-color head-up display. Available Hands-free Driving Assist with Level 2+ automated driving capability, dual wireless phone charging and integrated connectivity ports, 24-way power front seats with massage, heat and ventilation, second-row heated and cooled seats, and available Klipsch Reference Premiere audio system with 1,228 watts of power and 23 speakers.
Stellantis builds the Ram 1500 pick-up truck at two plants, one is the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan, and the other is the Saltillo Light-Duty Truck Assembly Plant in Mexico.
