SPOTTED: 2025 Ram 1500 Limited Crew Cab 4×4 Tester

With the updated 2025 Ram 1500 (DT) pickup scheduled for production on Monday, February 5th, Ram engineers are continuing to dial in the new twin-turbocharged trucks. Recently, our spy photographers caught the engineers testing near the company’s Auburn Hills Headquarters in Michigan.

This truck in question looks to be an earlier pilot model. Wearing the face of the new 1500 Limited, we see that this truck is riding on the older Laramie Sport 22-inch wheels and still even has HEMI® eTorque badges on the hood. However, we know the twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter HURRICANE I6 engine is replacing the 5.7-liter HEMI® V8.

The new, larger, forward-leaning grille makes the updated half-ton look a lot tougher while serving the purpose of additional cooling for the twin-turbocharged engines. Ram will continue to offer a variety of grille textures, making each model unique as it has done since the fifth-generation truck debuted in 2018. A new, prominent R-A-M badge has been lifted to increase the presence and make a proud statement. The updated front-end design with the new power telescoping mirrors from the Heavy Duty trucks makes the 2025 Ram 1500 look much tougher, as if it were a Heavy Duty model.

New premium LED headlamps, including twin bi-functional projector headlamps, are standard on Limited and up. Models like the Big Horn, Laramie, and Rebel will all come standard with LED headlights, but they will be reflective, not projector models like the ones on this Limited. All-new LED taillamps with a jeweled appearance will be available across the lineup and will include Blind-Spot Monitoring (BSM) features, available on select models.

While the Ram 1500 will offer customers three engine options for 2025, the Limited will come standard with the new twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter HURRICANE High-Output (H/O) Straight-Six Turbo (SST) engine. This engine delivers 540 horsepower and 521 lb.-ft. of torque, which is 145 horsepower and 111 lb.-ft. of torque more than the outgoing HEMI. The outgoing HEMI had a maximum towing rating of 12,750 lbs. on specific configurations; the H/O only has a maximum tow rating of 10,740 lbs. and a maximum payload of 1,370 lbs. The H/O engine is mated to the HEMI’s 8HP75 TorqueFlite 8-speed automatic transmission, so we are sure this new SST engine will provide smooth and swift shifts through each gear.

Judging by the decal in the window of this prototype, we see that the engine calibration has been updated, ensuring us that the Ram engineers are simply trying to dial in that new HURRICANE H/O before it arrives on dealer lots sometime in the first quarter.

Stay tuned, as we can’t wait to spend some time behind the wheel of these new Hurricane-powered half-tons as they finally become available.