The 2008 Dodge Dakota truck comes standard with a V-6 engine, but a V-8 is still an available option. The new engine has the same displacement as last year's model, 4.7-liters, but with an improved intake manifold, a new cylinder head design, and lighter weight pistons and connecting rods. Horsepower has been increased about 25-percent, to 290, and torque to 320 lb.-ft., about 10-percent more than the 2007 engine.
The truck's new cylinder head has two spark plugs per cylinder, which helps the engine burn fuel more evenly and more completely, resulting in additional power and slightly better fuel economy. The 5.7-liter HEMI is the only other Dodge engine with two plugs per cylinder.