2028 Ram Dakota SRT will be most powerful midsize pickup (at least 470 HP)!

[HolyToledo!]

Stellantis just revealed that there will be a 2028 Dakota SRT model coming! This was revealed in its roadmap infographic (posted below). They also shared that the Dakota SRT will be the most powerful midsize pickup truck in the segment.

Ram says the upcoming Dakota will be “the most powerful mid-size truck” as they anticipate. This is very interesting. Currently, the most powerful and fun midsize truck is the Ford Ranger Raptor. It comes with a twin-turbo V6 405 horsepower engine. The new Ram Dakota SRT should offer more power than this. The rumor of the Jeep Gladiator V8 392 is very real. The Jeep Wrangler 392 V8 has been on sale for some time. It’s possible that a Ram Dakota 392 is coming as well. It means that it will have at least 470 horsepower, and likely more power than that.​

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There is a report that the new Dakota will be about the same length as the competitor Toyota Tacoma, Chevy Colorado, or Ford Ranger. However, they say it will be a little wider. It will have a bit more elbow room on the inside than most midsize pickup trucks.​

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From https://tfltruck.com/2026/05/news-r...he-most-powerful-pickup-truck-in-the-segment/​

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[cc1999]

Sounds pretty much perfect .
392 v8 under the hood, with a little extra interior room, sounds like winning combo, and as long as it’s as good looking outside as the current Ram trucks , I am sure I will be buying one.

 

[25BlackRaptor]

Sounds pretty much perfect .
392 v8 under the hood, with a little extra interior room, sounds like winning combo, and as long as it’s as good looking outside as the current Ram trucks , I am sure I will be buying one.

I wonder if you'll buy a white one

Im generally curious if this truck will convince me to get rid of the RR. Obviously a v8 is a big influence, but somethings I'd like to convince me more is cooling seats, a moonroof, and just as comfortable suspension as the RR.

Cant wait to see some pictures and more concrete details!

 

[Slyder]

I'll be eagerly awaiting details and scoping out Dealers that won't be charging mark-ups over MSRP.

Sadly, that rules out 95% of the Dealers in my State.

 

[WXman]

What this says to me is that the cooling package on the Dakota is vastly improved over the current Gladiator pickup. They've stated many times that the reason Gladiator only has one engine option is because of cooling constraints during SAE J2807 testing. This could also be a clue about the next gen Gladiator, since the two trucks are said to share platforms.

 

[Slyder]

What this says to me is that the cooling package on the Dakota is vastly improved over the current Gladiator pickup. They've stated many times that the reason Gladiator only has one engine option is because of cooling constraints during SAE J2807 testing. This could also be a clue about the next gen Gladiator, since the two trucks are said to share platforms.

There's that and the fact it's been hinted that the Gladiator and the yet to be revealed Scrambler will have a front end design reminiscent of the Jeep pickup and Wagoneers of the early 1970's.

I think there was a concept at one of the Jeep Easter Safari's that hinted to this.

 

[RJackson]

The other tell here is the Scrambler tease. If Stellantis is committing to V8 cooling in both the Dakota SRT and the Scrambler the cooling solution isn't a one off but a platform wide fix.

Which points to a Hemi Gladiator eventually. They're not going to engineer J2807 capable V8 cooling for two halo trucks and leave the volume product stuck with the Pentastar.

 

[Slyder]

A large Dealer in Texas posted this image of the Dakota posted yesterday.

Granted, there's nothing related to the SRT, since it'll be the Halo trim and they'll drop that info at a later date.
At least it shows what the North America version will look like and it's engine options. I'm still hoping for a V-8 in the SRT, but the numbers on the I-6 TT have me wondering a bit now.

 

[WXman]

I'm not saying that the image above isn't true. Could 100% be true. But I will be surprised to see ANY of those three powertrains in this truck.

That version of the 2.0T is the "old" version. Why would they drop that in an all new vehicle instead of the upgraded Hurricane 2.0T that's being used in other vehicles? There's a 50 horsepower spread between the two, and the new one promises better fuel economy.

Then you have the P-star which is one of the best engines they've ever had for the last 15 years, but it's old now and torque output is miserable for a truck, and emissions requirements are starting to get tough on these old engines.

And then the Hurricane 3.0...the engine that's so long they had to shoe-horn it into the 1500 and there are still parts of the engine you can't access for repair without removing the cab from the frame. How are they going to get that engine into the smaller Dakota??

I think ALL Dakota trucks will have the newer updated 2.0T engine with the TJI system like the new Jeeps are getting already at 324 HP. And then, eventually, they'll have the SRT version maybe with the 392 Hemi...maybe....if they can fit a sufficient cooling system to handle towing validation.

 

[Slyder]

The claim is it's from an official Stelantis/Ram brochure.

I'm will not trust much until we get the actual official info dropped from Ram about it, because people love using A.I to generate stuff.

Heck, even the image could be what only the GT and/ or R/T looks like if it isn't A.I generated also.

I've even heard rumors of a smaller displacement over head cam Hemi V-8 being worked on, but that's just it...rumors.

I'm a patient person, but if the SRT actually has a V-8 I need to start beating the bushes out of State (in State is a lost cause as I've been finding out already) so I can get on a waiting list with a Dealership that doesn't mark up over MSRP.

 

[WXman]

Yeah, the fact that it's branded as a Dodge is the first clue it's AI. Dodge hasn't made a truck in 17 years. I also haven't heard anything about a GT or R/T trim. So I'm thinking that image is totally AI.

Hopefully Stellantis will throw us a bone and give us a look at the actual truck this summer, maybe at the Texas auto shows where they love to debut trucks.