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Ward's Automotive Ten Best Engines of 2014 dominated by diesels, turbos

With the Car and Driver Ten Best decided, the North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists announced and Cadillac, Ram and Subaru chalking up wins with Motor Trend, it's fair to say that the automotive awards season is in full swing. The next set of trophies to be handed out will be from Ward's Automotive, which has announced the winners of its 2014 10 Best Engines.
The latest contest was marked by the widespread emergence of diesel power and the continued success of turbocharged engines. There was even an electric motor on this year's list. In fact, only three of the ten winners were naturally aspirated and only two winners returned from last year.
"We weren't looking to throw the bums out, as they might say about an election. We were just really impressed with the flood of new powertrains," said Ward's Automotive Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter. Those new powertrains include the 83-kilowatt electric motor from the Fiat 500e, the 1.0-liter, EcoBoost three-cylinder from the Ford Fiesta and the 2.0-liter turbodiesel from the Chevrolet Cruze.

Hennessey announces Ram 1500 TRX six-wheel conversion

Between the six-wheeled Hennessey VelociRaptor 6x6 and Goliath 6x6 pickup trucks, based on Ford and GM trucks respectively, we should have known a Ram would be next. And Hennessey Performance is pulling the stops out farther than ever before by basing its latest hulk on the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX. Hennessey is calling this six-wheeled beast the Mammoth. But the reason for the name goes beyond the size. The other reason is that the Texas-based tuner is ditching the already potent stock Hellcat engine in favor of the Mopar Hellephant crate engine. The Hellephant is a supercharged 7.0-liter (426-cubic-inch) V8 that in stock tune makes 1,000 horsepower. Hennessey says they'll get 1,200 horsepower out of it. Of course the Mammoth will also feature six-wheel drive, a lengthened frame and bed to accommodate the extra wheels and tires. Off-road suspension, big tires, steel bumpers, auxiliary lights and custom interior will also be on the list of modifications. Hennessey plans to offer the Mammoth for $500,000 and only three will be built. The company will start taking orders on September 4 at noon central time. If you want to place an order, be ready with your phone at the appointed time and call 1-800-897-0426. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX is the most intense off-road truck ever built

Ram 1500 TRX spied with remote-reservoir shocks and supercharger whine

The highly anticipated Ram 1500 TRX, Ram's Ford F-150 Raptor rival, has been spied again. And the big news is all in the suspension. Compared with the last prototype we saw, this truck sits much higher, and it now has fender flares to cover the wider track. It looks like some of the extra width may be from slightly bigger tires and higher offset wheels. But those might not be the only factors. Looking closely, the rear wheels have eight lug nuts versus six on the front. The previous prototype had six lugs on the rear. So this version may have a beefier rear axle, maybe from the Ram 2500. That axle may be a bit wider. The suspension itself is clearly farther along, too. Up front, there are some burly looking lower control arms. But in the back, any suspension reinforcements are long gone, and the axle seems to be supported by equally beefy trailing arms. Most exciting are what appear to be fancy remote reservoir off-road shocks tucked in the rear wheel arches. They're covered by little black sacks to hide them. The Rebel TRX concept from a few years ago featured internal-bypass shocks, and the Ford F-150 Raptor features the same kind of shocks. That Ram TRX concept also had 13 inches of suspension travel at each corner. Besides the updated suspension, we're pleased to report that the TRX is still rocking Hellcat power. Our spy photographer tells us that there's very audible supercharger whine. He also caught the truck on video, and it sounds gravelly and angry. We're very much looking forward to the truck's launch, which should be sometime before 2022.