Ram Trucks Australia has converted its final Hemi V8-powered Ram 1500 to right-hand drive, ahead of the full-size American pickup’s move to twin-turbo six-cylinder ‘Hurricane’ power in 2025.
The last Ram 1500 with a Hemi V8 under the bonnet – a Limited with Granite Crystal paint, to be precise – rolled off the production line in Clayton, Melbourne, last Friday (December 6, 2024).
Ram Trucks Australia has been ‘remanufacturing’ the 1500 since June 2018 at the former home of Holden Special Vehicles (HSV).
While the larger 2500 and 3500 heavy-duty pickups came first, Ram’s volume-selling 1500 debuted in previous-generation DS-series form, before the DT-series pickup arrived in May 2021 with mild-hybrid power, though both featured the famed Hemi engine under their big and bluff bonnets.
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While there are several unofficial Ram converters in Australia, the final factory-backed Ram 1500 with a V8 engine was the 28,495th example to be produced in the facility by Walkinshaw’s workforce.
However, the total number of 1500s converted for Ram Trucks Australia is higher, as it was briefly available with a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel. Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups continue with a 6.7-litre Cummins straight-six turbo-diesel.
Following an intensive local development program, more than 400 locally-engineered parts are installed by 200 employees across 14 working hours before each Ram pickup is sold in Australia or exported to New Zealand.
But the Ram 1500 V8 wasn’t the only vehicle to reach the end of the road at a Walkinshaw facility in Claytonduring the month of December. On December 29, 2017, HSV built the final GTSR W1 at a smaller plant nearby, just a few months after Holden shut up shop.
The V8-powered 1500 has been in runout since October, and limited stock is currently available. The entire range is offered with free on-road costs, with the brand covering the cost of dealer delivery, stamp duty and 12 months of registration and compulsory third-party insurance.
“We haven’t put a ‘final V8’ badge on this particular example because, to us, they’re all special. But once they’re gone, they’re gone.” said Ram Trucks Australia general manager, Jeff Barber, in a media statement.
Ram 1500’s 5.7-litre Hemi V8
While you soon won’t be able to buy a new V8-powered Ram 1500, the company will continue to employ its circa 250-strong workforce across the Clayton factory and its engineering teams to bring the new twin-turbo six-cylinder Ram 1500 to local showrooms in 2025.
Revealed in the US back in November 2023, the facelifted DT-series Ram 1500 swaps the Hemi for the Stellantis group’s newer Hurricane 3.0-litre straight-six, which out-muscles the V8 it replaces.
Australian specifications have yet to be confirmed, however, government approval documents first reported by CarExpert in October showed Ram has received design certification to sell five variants of the latest 1500, with the choice of two power outputs between them.
The standard-output version of the 3.0-litre twin-turbo engine (named SST SO) produces 313kW and 636Nm, while the high-output version (called SST HO) develops 403kW and 706Nm.
For context, the Hemi V8 produces 291kW and 556Nm.
Hurricane twin-turbo six-cylinder engine
The Ram 1500 will join the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra in only being available with six-cylinder power – though its rivals feature V6s, not straight-sixes – while the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 becomes the only remaining full-sized pickup with a V8 engine.
Ram 1500 sales peaked in Australia at 5922 deliveries in 2023, representing more than half of all local US pickup sales at the time.
Such was its popularity that the Ram 1500 alone outsold entire brands including Jeep, which is owned by the same parent company but imported by different distributors in Australia.
However, Ford Australia’s official release of the Ford F-150 at the end of 2023 and the subsequent rollout of the Toyota Tundra has resulted in Ram 1500 deliveries taking a dive, with just 2962 examples registered between January and November 2024 – a 47.5 per cent decrease on the same period last year.
Though it’s officially still Australia’s best-selling pickup, the Silverado 1500 found 2161 new homes in the opening 11 months of this year (also courtesy of Walkinshaw), while 2084 Ford F-150s were delivered despite numerous rollout pauses.
MORE: Ram 1500 Hemi V8s get runout deals as turbo six replacements loom
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