A Dakota with a 5.7 Hemi, and/or a 6.1 Hemi SRT8?

It will never come into production but they could make a concept car like that. The Dakota really does not have the room for the 5.7/6.1 because of bigger parts. Even though the motors r not too much bigger than the 4.7. It is just that they would completely have to redesign the engine bay area to make everything fit & run properly. The Dakota is do not have much room underneath the hood even with the 4.7 because that is the way Dodge designed it. So asking for a 5.7/6.1 motor swap would be asking Dodge to modify the original Dakota engine bay, just so that they can build some with the HEM l motors in them. This would take too much time & too many extra materials for Dodge to make a good profit on them. So that is why they would not do it, because they would not be making enough profit on them. Hope this helps.

To 440 - Ok settle down. First off, u r comparing two different dakotas. The Dakota has been redesigned since they had the 5.9 in them. Second l do not care about a crappy Datsun or an S-10. We r talking about dodge here. l never said that u could not ''get'' a 5.7 in a Dakota, l just said that it wont fit properly without problems. l have read online in the past that Dakota owners that have put the HEM l in one have come across minor problems. One is completely different motor mounts. Another is u have to cut metal & modify the frame in the Dakota so that the transmission will fit because the transmission is slightly in a different place because of the HEM l motor. They r also having to make custom oil pans & some r having trouble with engine fans not fitting properly. Now if u think that Dodge is going to produce a different frame & modify the engine bay just for the HEM l option, u r wrong. It would be too costly to have two different frames running down the assembly line when they could have just one universal frame. The Dakotas currently have one frame that can fit the 3.7 V6 & the 4.7 V8 with its power train. But putting a HEM l in one would be asking to modify the current frame & producing new parts & Dodge does not want to do that because it would cost them money & time. It is all about business. Trust me, if Dodge thought they could make enough profit on a HEM l Dakota, they would have done it in 2003. Also, with the truck market, why redesign a new high HP Dakota, when the 1500 HEM l is r not even selling? They r not going to waste there time. l am sorry. 440, l do not think u have put enough thought into ur answer. l am not trying to sound mean or trying to prove l know more than you, l am just pointing out the obvious. l hope this has helped the asker & 440 out. Hope this helps.

l have to ''strongly disagree'' with ur previous answer & here is why: there IS enough room for the Hemi. They made the Dakota R/T did not they? These trucks had a 5.9 liter under the hood, so why do u say it wo not fit? You can fit a small block 350 into a Datsun or a 400 in an S-10. To the asker: l appologize for incorrect from people who really do not need to be answering questions about things they do not know about. Now to ur question - l think they will put a Hemi in a Dakota, they put a Hemi in a 4 door car (Charger) did not they?

anything is possible, l have helped stuff a 383 into an 87 dakota, it was not easy but it was done. Dodge wo not do it, have a little fun yourself if you have time/money and put together a custom HEM l dakota.

to the poster who said they were sitting at a local dealer, please provide photo of truck and underhood. with a VIN number to prove this was a factory Hemi dakota.

Guys, l have a question for you all. Why is there Dakotas sitting at my neighborhood dealer that say HEM l on the fenders?