2014 Ram 1500 Tradesman/express on 2040-cars

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Mopar highlights wild SEMA creations, AWD Challenger Concept

Thanks to 15,345 square feet of display area, FCA US' Mopar division certainly has ample space to display its parts and accessories at the SEMA Show. To lure attendees to check out all of those cars and components, the company is now revealing ten tuned vehicles for this year's aftermarket event. This isn't even the brand's whole fleet for the show, but it includes some major highlights for Dodge and Ram fans. A lack of traction traditionally makes rear-wheel-drive muscle cars dismal to drive when the weather gets slippery, but the Dodge Challenger GT AWD Concept (above) solves that age-old problem at SEMA. In addition to powering all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic, it boasts an angry-looking, wide-body kit with aggressively flared wheel arches. The asymmetrical stripe with Header Orange accents also adds some extra panache to the Destroyer Grey and Matte Black color scheme. The coupe can back up the macho look thanks to the Scat Pack 3 Performance Kit that adds 75 horsepower and 44 pound-feet of torque to the 5.7-liter V8. However, before you get too excited about driving one this winter, FCA US spokesperson Ariel Gavilan tells Autoblog: "It is only a concept." Mopar isn't done tuning Dodges for SEMA. The Charger Deep Stage 3 shows what's possible with the company's catalog by packing the Scat Pack 3, strut tower braces, coilover suspension kit, and bigger brakes. Meanwhile, the blacked-out Dart GLH Concept tries to harken back to the style of the famous Omni GLH by fitting a red-accented body kit, including a Mopar Performance aluminum hood. If the standard Ram 1500 Rebel is somehow too subdued, check out the Rebel X (right) in a vibrant shade called Copper. To be ready for anything offroad, it wears some muscular flares to fit 17-inch beadlock wheels and 35-inch Toyo tires. A concept, two-piece front skid plate protects the front. Drivers should also be comfortable no matter where they drive thanks to prototype Katzkin leather seats and a concept air-ride suspension. Chrysler enjoys some mods, as well. The 300 Super S has suave style with Matte Cerulean paint, concept 22-inch wheels, and a grille with little Mopar Ms dotted around it. Performance also sees a boost with a tuned engine, bigger brakes, and coilover kit. The gray 200 S Mopar is similarly stylish with a complete body kit, including a conceptual, dual-vented hood. Fiat and Ram's commercial models aren't left out of the SEMA fun, either.

Ram boosts Heavy Duty truck claims for 2015 [w/video]

The heavy-duty truck segment boasts some of the tightest competition of any automotive niche in the US. Being able to tout just one best-in-class figure can be a marketing advantage over competitors, and Ram Trucks is adding one more accolade to its tally with a powertrain update for the 2015 Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty pickups. Ram now claims best-in-class ratings for torque, towing and payload, depending on configuration.
The major change comes for the 3500 HD with a boost in torque for its Cummins 6.7-liter, inline-six diesel engine. It now produces a meaty 865 pound-feet of twist, a boost of 15 lb-ft, which is the best figure in its segment, according to the company. To eek out the extra power, the mill has more aggressive fuel delivery, and the turbo has been recalibrated. Of course, more grunt would be meaningless if drivers couldn't do anything with it, and the tweaks help allow payload to grow to 7,390 pounds, up from a rating of 7,320 pounds last year. The max towing rating remains unchanged at 30,000 pounds, though.
The rest of the powertrain lineup carries over from last year. The base HD mill is the gasoline-fed 5.7-liter V8 with 383 hp and 400 lb-ft and a six-speed automatic. The next step up is a 6.4-liter V8 with 410 hp and 429 lb-ft. There are also three trims of the 6.7-liter Cummins diesel starting with 350 hp and 660 lb-ft with a six-speed manual gearbox. If buyers opt for a the 68RFE six-speed auto, they get 370 hp and 800 lb-ft. Finally, there's the updated, top-rung version with 385 hp and 865 lb-ft with an Aisin six-speed automatic transmission.

Ram with a Hellcat V8 coming? Could be, but let's review the evidence

While Fiat-Chrysler has gradually been stuffing bigger V8s into everything it can, one brand that hasn't received any SRT or Hellcat love is Ram. This, despite showing a Raptor-fighting TRX concept with a detuned engine in the fall of 2016. But according to Allpar, there may be a Ram 1500 coming in the near future with the fabled supercharged V8, and at full power. Interesting theory, but let's take a closer look. The two bits of evidence the site points out are (a) an anonymous inside source saying a vehicle is in development, and (b) a displayed time in Ram press photos. If you look closely, some of the Ram interiors show the time 7:07 on the infotainment display. This corresponds with the Hellcat engine's 707 horsepower. Allpar further speculates that the vehicle will be Rebel-based due to a preponderance of the number in Rebel interiors. This wouldn't be the first time FCA has hinted at a future model's power via infotainment time, either, as it did so with the Challenger Demon. View 6 Photos There are some holes in this theory, though. We went back and looked at the press photos of the interiors, and the 7:07 time shows up on Bighorn Rams, too. And not every single Rebel interior has the time. There's at least one that shows the time 8:29, which appears on various other Ram interior shots. Also, while FCA did manage to make a full-time all-wheel-drive system for the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk to stand up to the Hellcat's ferocious power, we doubt that drivetrain would be used in a Ram, since it's a much different application. The final nail in this theory's coffin might be that the head of Ram Trucks communication told us that the times in the images are a "complete coincidence" and that "this theory is all speculation." All things considered, we think the odds of a Hellcat-powered Ram reaching production soon, particularly an off-road version like Allpar suggests, is pretty iffy. We wouldn't rule out some sort of Hellcat-powered Ram completely. At the very least, putting a Hellcat V8 into a two-wheel-drive Ram for a street truck would make loads of sense. It would be less expensive to develop compared to a Raptor competitor, it wouldn't have any existing competition, and it could capitalize on the history of the Viper-powered Ram SRT-10 from the mid-2000s. And as we've seen, FCA has no problem stuffing absurdly powerful V8s into everything it can, from Charger to Durango to Grand Cherokee. So, don't count on a Hellcat-powered Ram yet.