Roush Gives the Ram 1500 a Growl to Match Its New Attitude, But the Real Firepower Is Still Coming

Roush has spent decades making Fords sound and behave meaner, so it's a little surprising to see the tuner's badge showing up on a Ram. After teasing a mysterious silhouette a few weeks back, the company has finally revealed its first full-blown Stellantis project: the Ram Direct Connection by Roush.

The name may not roll off the tongue, but the recipe underneath it is straightforward and appealing. Roush starts with a 2027 Ram 1500 Big Horn Crew Cab 4x4 powered by the 5.7-liter naturally aspirated Hemi V8, good for 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque on its own, plus a temporary 130 lb-ft bump from the eTorque mild-hybrid system during hard launches.

What Roush actually changes is less about the engine's internals and more about how the truck rides, sounds, and looks. A new coilover suspension package aims to sharpen both on-road manners and off-road capability, while 18-inch wheels wrapped in 33-inch General Tire Grabber A/TX rubber give it a stance that separates it from a stock Big Horn at a glance.

The exhaust is where Roush's signature really shows up. An active cat-back system with blacked-out tips deepens the Hemi's voice considerably, and thanks to switchable flaps, owners can quiet things down again for long highway stints. It's the kind of upgrade that changes the truck's personality without touching its powertrain specs.

Cosmetically, the truck picks up aggressive hood vents with graphics, fender flares featuring clearance lighting, a red Ram emblem up front, unique badging, and American flag graphics stamped along the bed sides. It's clearly chasing some of the visual menace of the TRX, even if it can't match that truck's supercharged bite just yet. Underneath, Roush also throws in a 3.92 rear axle, an electronic locker, skid plates, and a trailer brake controller, with an optional Trailer Tow Package for those who actually plan to use this thing for work.

Inside, the changes are subtler, limited to branded floor mats and additional badging to remind the driver whose parts bin this came from. Every Roush component carries a 3-year, 36,000-mile warranty, and pricing lands at $15,995 for the package, pushing the total to $78,960 once the donor truck is included.

The bigger story, though, is what's still on the way. Roush has already confirmed it's developing a supercharger kit for the Ram 1500, meaning this naturally aspirated version is really just the opening act. For anyone hoping Roush would build something to genuinely rival the TRX's blown V8, patience may pay off soon enough.