We won’t beat around the bush. Thanks to a little bit of careful calibration, the 6.7-liter Cummins Diesel inline-six engine now produces 900 lb-ft (1,220 Nm). That’s right, boys and girls, the 2016 Ram Heavy Duty lineup of trucks boasts with an engine that offers the most torque in a mass-production vehicle.
“What about the 1,011 lb-ft (1371 Nm) of torque produced by the Koenigsegg One:1?” Considering that only 6 road-legal examples and a prototype were built, the One:1 isn’t what the industry labels as a mass-production vehicle. It’s silly to expect hypercar performance from a heavy-duty pickup truck, but it’s not silly to expect lots of pulling power from the Ram.
It may be only 35 lb-ft up from yesteryear’s Cummins Diesel motor, but that’s enough for crushing the 2016 Ram 3500’s competition with up to 31,210 lbs (14,156 kg) of SAE J2807-rated towing capacity. In a nutshell, it beats the closest rival with more than two tons its towing capacity. For the 3/4-ton 2016 Ram 2500 pickup truck, this workhorse is best-in-class at towing thanks to a rating of 17,980 pounds (8,155 kg).
As for payload, 7,390 lbs (3,352 kg) are doable thanks to the 6.4-liter HEMI propelling the 2016 Ram 3500. Slated to begin production in the third quarter of 2015, the 2016 Ram Heavy Duty lineup of trucks has more tricks up its sleeves aside from the updated Cummins Diesel engine. The most important detail is the 2016 Ram 3500’s beefed up rear axle ring gear from 12 to 16 bolts on trucks equipped with the 11.8-inch axle.
“Ram has bookended its innovation leadership in the pickup segments and thoughtfully engineered better trucks, including our Ram 1500 with real-world fuel economy approaching 30 mpg and the Ram 3500 with a mind-boggling 31,210 pounds of towing capacity, even on the hottest day,” declared Mike Cairns, director of Ram Truck Engineering. Last but not least, pricing: the 2015 Ram 2500 starts at $31,485 while the 2016 Ram 3500 starts at $31,990 (not including the $1,195 destination charge).
PS: To whom it may concern, the Laramie Limited's pig snout is now available for the HD lineup.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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