Ram Rampage compact pickup previewed for Brazil
Ram’s long-rumored entry-level pickup is about to make its official debut on the Brazilian market. Possibly called Rampage, and designed jointly by teams in Brazil and in the United States, the truck will slot at the bottom of the company’s range and feature a unibody architecture.
Embedded above, the preview video published by the Stellantis-owned brand suggests that the Rampage will borrow a handful of styling cues from the full-size 1500. Its grille features a big “RAM” emblem, its headlights look 1500-esque, and its tailgate has an integrated spoiler. It also features a sculpted hood with “RAM TURBO” emblems on both sides. Ram is keeping the interior under wraps for the time being, and keep in mind the model depicted in the video could be an upscale trim level. Base models will undoubtedly look a lot more, well … basic.
Most sources claim the Rampage will share its architecture with the Jeep Commander sold in several global markets, the Alfa Romeo Tonale and the Dodge Hornet. If that’s accurate, it will land as a unibody model rather than with body-on-frame architecture. Brazilian website Autos Segredos writes that the scaled-down 1500 will stretch about 197 inches long, 73 inches wide and 71 inches tall. For context, the Ford Maverick (which also uses a unibody architecture) measures approximately 200 inches long, 73 inches wide and 69 inches tall.
Official specifications haven’t been published; Ram simply promised that the truck will offer “unrivaled power,” a marketing jingle we can interpret in vastly different ways depending on the context. Enthusiast website Mopar Insiders believes the Rampage will launch with a 2.0-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engine and that a gasoline-powered 2.0-liter turbo-four will be offered a little later in the production run. Front-wheel drive will likely come standard, and we’re guessing that all-wheel drive will be offered at an extra cost on at least some trim levels.
Ram will release additional details about the Rampage (assuming that’s the name chosen) in the coming weeks, and sales in Brazil should start by the end of 2023. It’s too early to tell whether the truck will be sold in America, though we wouldn’t be surprised if it remains overseas. Ram stresses the Rampage was “developed in partnership with the United States,” but that’s not a guarantee that it will be available here.
When it arrives in showrooms, the Rampage (a name last used by Dodge between 1982 and 1984) won’t be the smallest truck in Ram’s global family. Visit one of the company’s Mexican showrooms and you’ll find the 176-inch-long 700, which is a badge-engineered Fiat Strada.
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