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Mopar’s new compact V8 for Ram, Jeep, and Dodge: Diving more into what we know, and what we expect
Feb 13, 2026
Days ago, we broke the news of a new compact Mopar V8. In this video, I talk about what I believe to be most likely, based on what I’ve heard—the design (GME vs Hemi, etc), the uses, turbos or naturally aspirated, etc.
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0:00
Hi there. This is Dave and I'm here to
0:02
talk to you a little bit about those
0:04
compact V8s that I have heard about and
0:07
that I've talked about earlier on
0:08
YouTube and on stealthower.com.
0:12
So, what have we got? My personal
0:15
opinion is that we're going to see
0:17
something based on the 5.7 Hemi series.
0:20
And the main reason for that is that the
0:23
uh hurricane engines, the four-cylinder
0:26
and the six-cylinder and the GME 2 LERs,
0:30
those are all based on forced induction.
0:33
The combustion chambers are designed for
0:35
turbocharging. If they wanted to convert
0:39
those into a naturally aspirated V8, it
0:43
would probably take a lot longer because
0:44
they'd have to redesign the combustion
0:46
chamber. Also, I think that a V8 with
0:49
that dual overhead cam system based on a
0:52
GME design would probably be larger than
0:56
they're looking for. So, if you want
0:57
something smaller and you're willing to
0:59
sacrifice some performance, then you and
1:02
I realize that sounds crazy, then you go
1:04
with the Hemi. And the reason I say
1:06
sacrifice some performance is because we
1:08
already see that the 3 L Hurricane can
1:11
easily outdo the 5.7 Hemi because it's
1:15
got the turbochargers. If you're talking
1:18
about uh a naturally aspirated design,
1:21
then you're probably going to want to go
1:22
with the Hemi. And the reason that they
1:24
probably want something natural
1:25
aspirated is three-fold. One, to save
1:29
space.
1:31
Two, to save money.
1:33
three because they'd want to use it as a
1:36
generator for that new range extended EV
1:40
setup that they've got for the wagon ear
1:42
and for the Ram 1500. And my guess is
1:44
that they're going to want to have
1:45
something also for the Ram 2500 and
1:48
3500. That would be totally unique right
1:51
now. A heavyduty electric truck has
1:54
[clears throat] a lot going for it. If
1:56
you can have the range extender so it
1:58
gets reasonably good mileage and doesn't
2:01
drown drain out the battery with too
2:03
much work. That means a more powerful
2:05
generator. That means you can't keep on
2:08
going with the pentastar engine, the
2:10
3.6, which puts out about 300
2:12
horsepower. But I'm guessing that
2:14
they're going to want to run it Atkinson
2:15
cycle,
2:17
which means that you're going to have a
2:18
bit less power. Now, they are still
2:20
going to want to have variable cam
2:22
timing, but you can do that on the Hemi
2:25
design as well as on the uh G on a GME
2:28
based engine. So, I'm thinking that what
2:31
we're looking at is a smaller Hemi.
2:35
Uh something smaller than the old 273 in
2:38
displacement, something certainly
2:41
smaller in overall size if at all
2:44
possible. So, they're going to be trying
2:45
to make this as small as they can. Now,
2:47
will it be aluminum or iron? That's a
2:50
question right now. You know, the Hemis
2:53
are iron block. The Hurricane and the
2:55
Pentastar are aluminum block. Uh I'm
2:59
guessing that they're going to go with
3:00
an iron block just because there's
3:03
people who keep insisting that only an
3:05
iron block will work for a truck. That's
3:07
possible. On the other hand, they might
3:09
do an aluminum block because they are so
3:11
much lighter. We've seen that the
3:13
Hurricane engines seem to be doing just
3:15
fine with their aluminum blocks. So
3:18
again, what we're looking at here, I
3:20
would guess in terms of power is going
3:22
to be somewhere from 350 to 400
3:25
horsepower. I think that the Hemi design
3:28
with the two valves might really be
3:31
where they're going with this. And I
3:33
think that they're going to be using
3:34
this two ways. As I said, as a generator
3:37
and as a naturally aspirated engine, for
3:40
people who don't believe in turbos, who
3:42
don't like the modern technology, they
3:44
can have a choice. They can go with the
3:47
hurricane 3 L on the one hand, uh, or
3:50
they can go with this naturally
3:52
aspirated V8, which gives them the
3:55
natural aspiration, the lack of
3:57
turbochargers for people don't trust
3:58
turbocharging again. And it gives them a
4:01
V8, which is great for marketing. Uh,
4:04
and some people just believe every
4:06
engine should be a V8. And that'll be
4:08
handy for the compact pickup and for the
4:10
Jeep Gladiator because it'll make them
4:12
unique.
4:14
They could also use it in the Wrangler
4:16
because right now, you know, in the
4:17
Wrangler, it's basically you've got your
4:19
300 horsepower six-cylinder and then you
4:22
jump all the way up to your 392, which
4:25
is an insane jump. So, the V8 could sit
4:28
in the middle and it could be uh a lot
4:31
more fuel efficient than the 392. It
4:33
could run on regular gas, but it could
4:35
still give you a power boost over the uh
4:38
V6 and it could give you that V8 whether
4:40
you want it because you really believe
4:42
V8s are better or whether it's for
4:44
bragging rights. So, that's where I
4:46
think that we are right now. Uh we know
4:48
that the engine is going to be made in
4:50
the United States. I'm pretty sure
4:52
leaning uh towards a Hemi based roughly
4:56
4 L design.
4:58
Something that's really compact so it
5:00
could fit into places where they had not
5:02
intended to put it originally because it
5:04
didn't exist when they were designing
5:05
the car. Something to replace and
5:08
upgrade from the Pentastar V6.
5:11
Certainly, I think it would be a good
5:13
addition for the Grand Cherokee. All
5:15
right, that's it for me. Uh, until next
5:18
time, until I have more to tell you, I'm
5:20
signing off. You'll see me at
5:22
stellpower.com with the daily news.
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