Ram 1500 RHO rolls into Busan with 540 horses and no V8 — and no nostalgia either
A massive American pickup at a Korean auto show: 540 hp from an inline-six, 521 lb-ft of torque, 35-inch tires and 300 mm of clearance. The Hemi is history.
Among electric crossovers, concept cars and Korean premieres at BIMOS 2026 in Busan stood an exhibit from an entirely different automotive universe. The massive Ram 1500 RHO. Backed by a desert-road stage set, a Detour sign and a screen flickering with Las Vegas footage, the pickup looked almost like a frame from an American road movie: tall body, wide track, aggressive Goodyear Wrangler tires and a bold RHO badge on the side.
The real story of the RHO sits under the hood. The era of the thundering Hemi V8 is over. In its place — a 3.0-liter inline-six Hurricane High Output with twin turbos. 540 hp and 521 lb-ft of torque. A new recipe for a full-size pickup: fewer cylinders, more output, sharper response and far less of that nostalgic V8 roar from the exhaust.
According to Ram, the 1500 RHO accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and from 0 to 100 mph in 11.7 seconds. For a truck this size, that’s almost sports-car territory. But the RHO isn’t pretending to replace a sports car — it’s the heir to the TRX’s desert philosophy. Going fast where the pavement ends.
Underneath, there’s no decorative off-road package — this is serious engineering. The Busan display car shows Bilstein dampers marked Ram Active Terrain Dynamics. The setup includes adaptive Bilstein Black Hawk e2 shocks, a beefed-up off-road suspension, full-time four-wheel drive and 35-inch all-terrain tires. Ground clearance reaches 11.8 inches — roughly 300 mm. Numbers like that push the RHO into proper body-on-frame SUV territory, while it remains, fundamentally, a pickup.
Visually, the RHO leans into pure American brutality. A gray-green body, a black grille with the giant RAM lettering, a hood scoop carrying the Hurricane High Output badge, massive fender flares, power side steps, a short cargo bed. At the back — two big exhaust tips, a tow hitch, a tall bumper and an RHO badge on the right side. It’s not a show-car fantasy. It’s a production spec for buyers who find a normal pickup just too civilized.
The interior, meanwhile, is anything but utilitarian. The cabin offers a large vertical central display, a digital instrument cluster, leather seats, a massive center console, contrast-stitched trim and a signature RHO plate on the armrest. It feels less like a working truck and more like a big off-road grand tourer. Just with an open cargo bed and the structural margin for terrible roads.