Over the past week or so, there have been many reports that Stellantis will soon resume production of the Hemi V8, with some of the social media posts claiming that the information pertaining to the return of the Hemi is official. Sadly, that is not the case at all, as no Stellantis representative or statement has actually said that Hemi production will begin at all, let alone in August. However, with the popularity of these reports and rumors, we wanted to take a look at what the realistic return of the Hemi might look like.
When these rumors first surfaced, they focused on the return of the 5.7-liter Hemi in lower cost trim levels of the Ram 1500, such as the Tradesman and Warlock. That would make sense, as if the engine really is going into production in a few months, it is likely the same 5.7-liter engine that was offered back in 2023 with 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque. The standard output Hurricane engine in the Ram 1500 offers 420 horsepower and 469 lb-ft of torque, and most people who had a Hemi truck then a Hurricane truck (like me), prefer the twin turbo inline six. The fuel economy is only a bit better, but the new engine just plain performs better in every way.
However, as the rumor has evolved, we are now led to believe that the 5.7, 6.4 and supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi engines are all returning to production as soon as August, and that those engines will be offered in all sorts of STLA vehicles – from trucks to Jeeps to muscle cars. Some people even believe that the last Dodge Challenger will return, but some people are wise enough to question whether all of this is really possible.
The main obstacle for the Hemi V8 engines was CAFE regulations, which have cost Stellantis/FCA over $600 million over the past 9 years – and the company still hasn’t faced fines for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 model years. The required MPG number has increased over this time, as has the fine amount per unit in violation, so missing the required number leads to larger and larger fines as time has gone on.
Right now, the CAFE regulations still exist as they did during the Biden administration, but there is word that President Trump could do away with the EPA and new US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has made comments that suggest that CAFE could be seeing some changes in the coming years. The EPA does not set the CAFE regulations – those come courtesy of the NHTSA – but a change to CAFE laws could bring back the Hemi.
Without those CAFE regulations, there is no risk of the big fines from offering the V8 engines that we all love, so there is no reason for Stellantis NOT to offer the Hemi in every form. Depending on how CAFE regulations change in the coming years, the American auto industry could look very different than it does right now, but for now, we have to consider the fines that come with missing those MPG requirements.
Keeping those CAFE regulations in mind, the most likely vehicles to get back to offering the Hemi V8 engines is the Ram 1500 lineup. The light truck class has lower MPG requirements than cars and the light class includes some small SUVs, including the Dodge Hornet R/T PHEV, so the Ram 1500 could offer the 5.7-liter Hemi without running into issues with fines.
Also, when the Ram 1500 RHO was introduced, the TRX was discussed as though it was not gone forever, so we would not be very surprised to see the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi come back as a halo truck. Of course, the Ram HD, Jeep Wrangler and Dodge Durango have never stopped offering the Hemi, so it makes sense that those models would continue packing the V8 as well.
On the other hand, without a change to CAFE regulations, it seems unlikely that we will see a full spread of Hemi engines offered in the new Dodge Charger. If we do see a Hemi-powered Charger, it will not be anytime soon, as introducing a new drivetrain requires a full spread of emission and crash testing. Dodge boss Matt McAlear has said that rolling out a new engine option takes over a year, so if the company started building Hemi engines in August, it would likely be at least a year before we see one of those engines in the new Charger.
Now, let’s say that sales of the Charger Daytona BEV pick up over the next year, the company may be able to offer Hemi-powered vehicles without the big fines, but we have to keep in mind that CAFE numbers are weighted by sales. This means that the stronger-selling vehicles have a bigger impact on the company’s CAFE score, so if they sell a bunch more Hemi-powered vehicles than EVs, their CAFE score will likely lead to more big fines. Along the same lines, if those Hemi-powered vehicles are high-priced, lower production models, they would have less impact on the CAFE score if the EV and Hurricane-powered Chargers are making up the majority of the sales mix.
As for the return of the 2023 Dodge Challenger, that is all but impossible. The assembly lines that produced the 2023 Dodge Challenger were torn down immediately after production ended and the facility was retooled to produce the new Dodge Charger. The company cannot just get right back to building Challengers and even if they could, those cars would be subject to full emission and crash testing – once again guaranteeing a wait of at least a year or two before we saw one at dealerships.
Of course, there is the possibility that President Donald Trump will abolish the EPA and do away with CAFE regulations, at which point the company could begin planning new Hemi-powered Dodge cars, but even in a best-case scenario, we are going to be waiting at least a year before we can buy any of those cars. The wait could be a bit less for a Hemi-powered Ram 1500, but should the Hemi come back to the half-ton truck lineup, it will most likely be the 5.7 Hemi in lowline trucks and the return of the Hellcat Hemi in the TRX.
