Stellantis 3.0L Hurricane 6-Cyl. Packs an ICE Punch

With electrification getting most of the buzz these days, and powering most of this year’s Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems winners, Stellantis reminds us not to overlook traditional internal combustion.

Just two of the 10 winners run on gasoline alone, and one is the 3.0L twin-turbo Hurricane High Output inline 6-cyl. that powers the 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten pickup. It’s the second time Wards has honored the Hurricane I-6, an engine applied for the first time in the all-new Ram 1500.

Ram parent Stellantis says the Hurricane is the most powerful 6-cyl. in the light-duty pickup segment, developing 540 hp and 521 lb.-ft. (706 Nm) of torque. That’s more horsepower and torque – and, for good measure – lower emissions than competing, naturally aspirated V-8 and boosted V-6 engines, Stellantis says.

 Harnessed to an 8-speed automatic transmission, the ICE hustles from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.6 seconds, 0-100 mph (161 km/h) in 11.7 seconds and the quarter-mile in 13.1 seconds at 105 mph (169 km/h). Top speed is 118 mph (190 km/h).

“Nice piece of work overall,” declares judge Dave Zoia. “Turbo delivers power smoothly, linearly with no big gaps or soft spots.”

At the heart of Hurricane High Output I-6 is a deep-skirt cast-aluminum block with a structural aluminum alloy oil pan. The engine uses cross-bolted steel main bearing caps to secure the strong rotating assembly, which includes a forged-steel crankshaft and forged-steel connecting rods. The engine is the strongest ever installed in a Ram, Stellantis says.

Stellantis engineers achieved outsized power and reduced emissions in the Hurricane High Output with technologies including:

Wards judges found the I-6 provided a V-8 feel with the improved fuel economy expected of a downsized engine. One judge achieved just under 20 mpg (11.8 L/100 km) highway/city combined – compared with the Hurricane’s EPA rating of 17 mpg (13.8 L/100 km) combined.

“Idles really quiet despite enormous power available and certainly quieter than any V-8 at idle I’ve observed,” judge Christie Schweinsberg notes. 

In the Hurricane High Output, Stellantis offers up a more powerful, lighter and more fuel-efficient successor to the 395-hp, 410 lb.-ft. (556-Nm) Hemi V-8 featured in previous Rams. And any engine deemed worthy of supplanting a Hemi V-8 is something extraordinary.

“This engine should sway even the most rabid Hemi V-8 buyer into the 6-cyl. family,” judge Bob Gritzinger says of the Hurricane manufactured since late 2021 in Saltillo, Mexico.