2024 Ram 2500 Big Horn on 2040-cars

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Ram's 700 mini-truck blends Fiat genes with 1500 styling cues

Ram's on-again, off-again sub-1500 pickup is allegedly on its way to production, but we haven't seen it yet. In the meantime, the company's Mexican division introduced a trucklet named 700 built on a unibody architecture. The 700's positioning suggests it picks up where the Dakota left off, but it's a completely different breed of truck. And, while its unibody bones are reminiscent of the Honda Ridgeline, it's a much smaller model that's essentially a badge-engineered version of the Fiat Strada. No, not the hatchback briefly sold in the United States from 1979 to 1982; we're talking about the little, economy car-derived pickup sold in dozens of global markets. Think of the 700 as the Dodge Rampage's distant heir. Visually, its front end borrows a handful of styling cues from the 1500, including an upright grille characterized by a bold Ram emblem and mesh inserts. Called SLT, the base model wears a decidedly downmarket look with black plastic bumpers and steel wheels covered by plastic hubcaps. The mid-range Big Horn blurs the line between a commercial vehicle and a crossover with a practical cargo box, while the range-topping Laramie variant is aimed at motorists who want an outdoorsy daily driver. Ram offers two- and four-door models, though only the SLT is available in the former configuration. The 700 boasts a usable 1,653-pound payload and an 880-pound towing capacity. Power comes from a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that sends 84 horsepower to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. Buyers can pay extra for a turbocharged, 1.3-liter four that delivers 98 horsepower. It doesn't appear that four-wheel drive is available, and there's no automatic transmission on the menu. Small and cheap doesn't necessarily mean basic. The 700 can be equipped with a seven-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, a rear-view camera, and electronic driving aids such as ABS brakes and traction control, plus LED headlights. Laramie models also benefit from partial leather upholstery. Ram will release the 2021 700 in the Mexican market this month, but we're not expecting the model to find its way north to the U.S. Drivers who want a small, unibody truck will need to wait until Ford releases the Maverick, which will ride on the same basic platform as the Escape and the Bronco Sport. It's tentatively due out in 2021 as a 2022 model.

VWerks Ram KTS is a Ram Runner aftermarket-style

Chrysler first introduced us to its Ram Runner exactly two years ago at SEMA, but for buyers of this Raptor-like truck who don't want to go through dealerships for the upgrades, VWerks has just the thing. Looking every bit as mean as the dealer-built Ram Runner, the VWerks Ram KTS gets a wide-body treatment and upgraded off-road performance suspension similar to its Mopar contemporary.
Starting life as your everyday Ram 1500, the Ram KTS on display at SEMA features a beefed-up KORE long-travel suspension system and off-road tires that allows the truck to tackle tough terrain at high speeds. From there, VWerks also added wider front and rear fenders, matte black 17-inch wheels and a Flowmaster performance cat-back exhaust system. For buyers looking for the rough and rugged look of the KTS but not needing the high-speed, off-road abilities, VWerks also offers the Baja Series kit that replaces the performance suspension system with a set of 20-inch wheels.
The VWerks Ram KTS and Ram Baja Series kits are available on any 2009 through 2013 model year Ram 1500, but there is no word on pricing for either kit yet. Scroll down for more information about both kits, and check out the KTS in our live gallery above.

2021 Ram TRX to be revealed this summer

The wait for the 2021 Ram TRX will soon be over, FCA confirmed Thursday with a social media teaser. The much-anticipated, Hellcat-powered Raptor slayer will be revealed this summer.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Ram teased the unveiling on Twitter with a short video of the truck kicking up a massive desert dust cloud overlaid with the TRX badge and the caption, "It’s not a mirage." Make sure you enable sound, because the clip has audio, and you can hear the beating heart of the TRX — the same 6.2-liter supercharged V8 that powers FCA's Dodge Hellcat and Jeep Trackhawk models.  The engine sound in the clip lends credibility to a previous spy video purporting to show a group of TRX prototypes testing in Michigan's Silver Lake Sand Dunes.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The link in the tweet leads to a microsite which replays the same short clip but offers no additional information, which tracks with the slow-drip approach Ram has taken with teasing out its new truck. Much of what we know (or believe to be true) has come from unconfirmed sources and spy shots, but Ram has acknowledged that the Hellcat powerplant will make more than 700 horsepower, rather than the 500-some-odd figure originally expected.  From the above shots, we can tell the TRX will sport bulging box flares (a la Raptor) front and rear. The hood appears to be equally bulging, good for highlighting the supercharged V8 underneath. The front bumper is similar to that of the Ram 1500 Rebel's with more raised sections in front of the tires to provide more clearance. Ram 1500 TRX View 18 Photos We get a solid look under the body, too. Still present are the extra beefy suspension control arms front and rear. Skid plates seem to line the whole underside down the middle. The tires were Goodyear Wrangler all-terrains, though it was difficult to make out the actual size. Previous spy photos have revealed remote-reservoir shocks. The wheels at each end are six-lug units, so it seems Ram isn't playing with a heavy-duty axle like a previous prototype suggested. Whatever the case may be, we should be no more than a couple of months away from getting the official details on Ram's new Raptor competitor.  Related Video: