Unless you've been living under a rock these past few months, you know about Ram's brand-new pickup for South America. The Rampage was shown to the world a few weeks back, and it's a mid-size model, though it would classify as a compact if it were to make its way to the United States.
Even though it's advertised as a vehicle ready to take on the great outdoors, the Ram Rampage doesn't feature a body-on-frame construction. Instead, it has a unibody architecture. The automaker mentions rear multi-link suspension and front MacPherson struts in the press release, announcing at the same time that all gasoline versions have ventilated discs on both axles larger than the ones in the diesel backing up the wheels, whose diameters vary from 17 to 19 inches.
Under the hood, shoppers will find a very familiar powertrain, namely a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder unit sourced from the Jeep Wrangler. The engine churns out 295 pound-feet (400 Nm) of torque and 268 horsepower (272 ps/200 kW). Should they want a more frugal mill, then they can opt for the 2.0-liter 168 hp (170 ps/125 kW) turbodiesel, whose thrust is rated at 280 lb-ft (380 Nm). Both versions have four-wheel drive and a nine-speed auto 'box delivering the thrust to the axles. Get the R/T, which is a bit sportier and sits closer to the ground, and you will hit 62 mph (100 kph) in 6.9 seconds, two-tenths quicker than the other variants, with the diesel taking 10.9 seconds to get there.
Looking like a smaller Ram 1500, the new Rampage comes with a large grille flanked by LED lighting units, a muscular hood, and fat fenders at the front and rear. It also has black cladding on the lower parts of the body for a rugged stance and features a Ram-branded tailgate between the vertical taillights opening up into a decent bed. As you already know, the Rampage shares many components with the Jeep Compass, and this is more visible inside. Mind you, that doesn't mean that it's identical to its cousin. Some of the highlights here comprise the 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless smartphone integration, a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster, two-zone climate control, several USB sockets, optional ambient lighting, and Harman Kardon premium sound system.
Photo: Screenshot Youtube | Theottle
As we already told you, the sportiest trim variant of the Rampage is called the R/T. Chances are it will remain the top spec for as long as the new pickup stays in production, with the assembly taking place at Stellantis' Goiana factory in Pernambuco, Brazil. In other words, Ram does not intend to expand the family with a TRX model for the simple fact that the Rampage would become way too pricey for its own good. But that does not mean we cannot see what a Ram Rampage TRX would look like, with the obvious CGI twist. In this case, it was theottle who signed the renderings shared in the gallery above. The digital artist rearranged the pixels of the regular pickup at the front, sides, and rear, giving it some styling traits that were borrowed from the bigger Ram 1500 TRX.
Therefore, now you know where the grille, bumper, and hood came from. The back-end virtual design is even more similar to that of the 1500 TRX, sporting a new bumper and TRX decals on the quarter panels. The artist did not mess around with the ground clearance, which was already very generous even before the digital makeover, but they did give it new wheels of a larger diameter that were wrapped in chunkier tires. A few other stylistic elements further tie it to its larger and real sibling, and to complete the makeover, it would need a different chassis setup and beefier brakes at both axles. It would also require a very serious engine under the hood, and the first choice would obviously be the Hellcat lump.
Shared with other models, the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 kicks out 702 horsepower (712 ps/524 kW) in the 1500 TRX and 650 lb-ft (881 Nm) of torque. Everything is channeled to the off-road-focused four-wheel drive system through an eight-speed auto 'box. The 1500 TRX can accelerate to sixty miles an hour (97 kph) in 4.5 seconds and has a maximum speed of 118 mph (190 kph). A hypothetical Rampage TRX packing this exact engine in the same configuration would be even faster, considering the reduced proportions and lighter construction.
We don't doubt that it would sell like hotcakes in the US of A, where pickups are right at home, but there's no indication that Ram is looking to give it the TRX treatment. On top of that, they'd need to launch it in our market, and for that to happen, it would need to be built at a different factory to avoid the chicken tax. But assuming they'd green-light the project, would a Rampage TRX make it to your shopping list?
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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