2025 Ram Heavy Duty Breaks Cover
Ram is getting ready for the final testing and validation of its refreshed Heavy Duty truck lineup. Just like when Chevy pulled the wraps off the Corvette ZR1, Ram is going to be testing its powertrain and cooling system out in the open, without any bulky camouflage. Rather than make us squint at telephoto spy photos, Ram eliminated the middle man and sent us photos directly. We’ll have to wait to learn the specs, but here’s what the images reveal.
Just as you’d expect for a mid-cycle enhancement, exterior changes are minimal and seem limited to trim. The lighting element on the large towing mirrors has a new shape, and the headlights and grille are updated across the lineup. The bulging Sport Performance Hood with scoop and heat extractor remains, and it looks like the bumper and fog lights also carry over.
The off-road-oriented Rebel will get a new grille, ditching its Fu Manchu mustache and opting for sets of straight fins divided into horizontal and vertical elements. We can’t quite make out the exact tire size, but the wheels shown seem to be 20 inches in diameter, which isn’t a first. The Rebel is currently available with 285/60R20 tires that measure more than 33 inches in diameter, so it’s not a stretch to assume a similar or same size for the 2025 model.
Headlights are now slimmer, with the horizontal light bar element moved up from the current version. The new grilles now separate the headlight from the driving lights. On higher-end trims, that means there can be more body color in the grille, although there are still several 2025 Ram HD trims we have yet to see. The red truck shown at the top of the page looks like an evolution of the current Laramie trim, so that leaves Longhorn Limited and Longhorn to swap that body-color portion for more chrome. From the rear, new taillights look a bit more refined than the current model, with accent lighting along the outboard edges.
Of course, the most interesting parts are still unknown. We expect the interior of the 2025 Ram HDs to follow in the footsteps of the 2024 Ram 1500 and offer larger UConnect screens and possibly a passenger-side screen as well. For the powertrains, the 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 will soldier on, in what we had expected to be the only surviving Hemi application as cars, 1/2-ton trucks, and full-size Jeep SUVs moved to turbocharged 3.0-liter power. However, the the Wranger Rubicon 392 will keep using the big, iron-block V-8 for 2025. The real unknown is the Cummins 6.7-liter turbodiesel. The Ram Heavy Duty has always been incredibly capable, but the diesel V-8s from GM and Ford have been churning out a lot more power lately, offering 470 and 500 hp, respectively. Ram offers a 420hp High Output Cummins, but only on the 3500s. The 2500 models use a 370hp version of the engine. Both are equipped with a six-speed automatic compared to the 10-speeds used in the competition. We expect Ram will close the horsepower gap and also move to a new transmission to get heavy loads moving and keep them at highway speed even on tough climbs.
Considering it’s almost October, we might not have long to wait to get those new horsepower and torque numbers. The 2025 Ram 2500 and 3500 will be here soon and we should have another three-way diesel truck horsepower arms race on our hands.
