2026 Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Lineup Gains New “Sport Trims” Mirroring Light Duty Offerings

Looks like the 1500 won’t be the only truck to wear the “Black Express” and “Warlock” badges.Justin BannerWriter

ManufacturerPhotographerJun 29, 2025

If you’re looking for more interesting pickup trucks, 2025 has been the year for you. Ford recently expanded the sporty Lobo package to the F-150 from the smaller Maverick, GMC’s adding an AT4 off-road version of its all-electric Sierra, and now Ram—after bringing the Hemi V-8 back to its 1500 lineup—is expanding both the Warlock and Black Express trims to the 2500 Heavy Duty truck line. Ram refers to these trims as their “Sport Truck” options, but maybe don’t think too hard about how any Heavy Duty truck can be “sporty.”

What will be great news to these potential owners is that both of these 2026 Ram 2500 sport trims are based on the affordable Tradesman model and slot below the Rebel HD in the HD hierarchy. Both trims can come with either the 6.4-liter gas-fed Hemi V-8 with 405 hp and 429 lt-ft of torque or the Cummins 6.7-liter turbodiesel with 430 hp and 1,075 lb-ft of torque. Either engine will also come with the Torqueflite HD eight-speed automatic transmission.

Both get Crew Cab bodies that will come in Diamond Black, Bright White, Granite Crystal, Silver Zynith, Forged Blue, Flame Red, Ceramic Grey, and Molten Red. They will both also come with power adjustable Convex tow mirrors, 20-inch wheels, cloth bench seats, and cloth carpet as standard. From here, the Black Express and Warlock deviate.

The 2026 2500 Black Express is offered in rear- or four-wheel drive with a long or short bed, making it a bit more tailored to a working environment while still being a “Sport Truck.” The body features a sport performance hood and body-color bumpers and grille surround. Along the rocker panels will be a set of black cab-length side steps while the 20-inch wheels will be finished in black.

Inside drivers and passengers will see carpeted floor mats while the driver will have added assurance while parking with the standard front and rear parking sensors. In all, the Black Express will add a very reasonable $2,495 to the cost of the 2026 2500 Tradesman for a starting price of $53,735.

The 2026 2500 Warlock is only available with four-wheel drive and the short bed, which wears “Warlock” decals on its bedsides. The grille surround, flares, and bumpers are all finished in black, while the 20-inch diamond cut wheels are wrapped in 34-inch Goodyear Duratrac A/T tires and the transfer case gets a skid plate.

Oddly, the Warlock doesn’t get any sort of step bar or rock slider option for its rocker panels, though it is possible such pieces would be available through Mopar later on. It’s also mechanically distinguished from both the standard Tradesman and the Black Express thanks to a standard limited slip rear differential, Bilstein dampers tuned for both pavement and off-roading, and hill descent control.

Inside, the major difference comes in the form of all-weather floor mats for front and rear bench seat occupants. This also means that the price of the Warlock is higher than the Black Express, boosting the price of a Tradesman by $2,995 to a starting ask of $57,165.

If either of these trims tickle your fancy, you can order these 2026 Ram 2500 Tradesman-based Black Express or Warlock right now and it should arrive at your dealer by the third quarter of this year, after being assembled at the Saltillo, Mexico plant.