GM Leaps Ford, Ram in V8 Truck Engine War

General Motors recently introduced the next generation of V8 engines destined for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, and with increases in horsepower and torque, the GM half-ton pickups pack more power than the V8-powered competition from Ford and Ram. It should be noted that Chevrolet and GMC are still using a big V8 as their premium half-ton truck engine while both Ford and Ram have gone to smaller, forced-induction engines for the premium engines in their mainstream half-ton lineups. There are engines in the segment with more power, but if you want the roar of a naturally aspirated V8 and the most power possible, GM has a pretty significant advantage over its crosstown rivals.

Here is a look at the high-volume, naturally aspirated V8 engines in the Chevrolet, GMC, Ford and Ram half-ton trucks for the 2027 model year – with Chevrolet, GMC and Ram offering cylinder deactivation while Ford changes course from the 2026 model year and drops it.

The Hemi Sounds Great

The 5.7-liter Hemi returned to the Ram 1500 lineup to satisfy the many Mopar fans who simply hated the sound of the new Hurricane inline-six engines. The company went to an all-six-cylinder lineup for the 2025 model year, but even though the twin-turbocharged I6 engines offer far more power than the V8, Ram fans couldn’t live without the mighty Hemi. When Tim Kuniskis returned from retirement to help save the company, he took the reins at the Ram brand and immediately got the 5.7L Hemi back into the half-ton lineup for 2026. However, the engine is unchanged from the Hemi that was offered back in 2019, so it still offers just 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque, making it the least powerful of the naturally aspirated V8 options in the 2027 half-ton segment. The Ram’s standard GT Sport exhaust still makes the Hemi the best-sounding engine in this discussion.

The Ford Coyote is a Solid Second

When the 2021 Ford F-150 reached dealerships, it was available with a revised 5.0-liter “Coyote” V8 that delivered 400 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque. With the same torque output and five more horsepower, that engine put the F-150 in the lead in the high-volume V8 horsepower race over Ram’s Hemi and GM’s 5.3-liter V8, but the GM trucks with the 6.2-liter V8 still had the edge over Ford and Ram in the overall naturally aspirated V8 battle. However, with the arrival of the 2027 GM V8s, Ford slides to a solid second in the V8 race…or third if we want to count Chevy and GMC as different trucks.

2027 Chevrolet and GMC V8 Engines Lead the Way

General Motors has introduced two new V8 engines for the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. The new 5.7-liter V8 replaces the previous 5.3 while the new 6.6-liter V8 replaces the old 6.2. The new 5.7-liter V8, which happens to measure 350 cubic inches, offers 402 horsepower and 428 lb-ft of torque, up significantly from the 355 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque from the 5.3L V8 in the current GM trucks. The power numbers of the new 5.7-liter GM truck engine are good enough for it to beat both Ford’s 5.0-liter V8 and Ram’s 5.7-liter Hemi.

More importantly, the new 6.6-liter V8 offers 481 horsepower and 501 lb-ft of torque, making it the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 in the segment and the most powerful V8 offered in a non-performance-focused pickup. Supercharged performance models, including the Ford F-150 Raptor R, Ram SRT TRX and SRT Rumble Bee, offer more V8 power.

Ram Still Leads in Overall Half-Ton Power*

While the Ram 1500 5.7-liter Hemi trails the naturally aspirated V8s from Ford, Chevy and GMC, Mopar does still have the overall lead in half-ton power among both high-volume and niche performance trucks. The high-output Hurricane that is offered from the middle of the Ram 1500 lineup and upwards delivers 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque, making it the most powerful high-volume, non-electrified engine in the half-ton segment. No other volume engine in the segment delivers over 500 horsepower and other powertrains exceeding 500 lb-ft of torque include the new GM 6.6L V8, Ford’s high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, and the hybrid drivetrains from Ford (570 lb-ft) and Toyota (583 lb-ft). Both of those hybrid trucks offer far less horsepower than the Ram’s Hurricane H.O., but the fact that they both offer more torque is why we stuck that asterisk in the section heading.

It should also be noted that Ford’s high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo V6 offers 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, so while the 5.0-liter V8 cannot compete with GM’s big V8, the F-150 lineup has a boosted V6 that offers comparable power. In other words, while GM packs the most V8 power in a volume truck, Ford and Ram offer their own big power with smaller, forced-induction engines.