Having just indicated that it’s not willing to sit out the EV truck wars, Ram debuted the Ram 1500 Revolution concept merely months ago. This was a three-row wondertruck from CES that was pointed at the future and packed-to-the-gills with cool tech. The production version is out and the company is calling it the Ram 1500 REV. Here’s everything we know.
What Is The Ram 1500 REV?
First of all, the new RAM 1500 will be built on the STLA Frame platform developed by parent company Stellantis. This means we knew all along the Ram would maintain a fully-boxed frame that’s typical of full-size pickup trucks.
The one trick to this platform is that the battery pack appears to be built between the frame rails, similar to the Rivian R1T. This means that the battery pack probably plays a structural role and is also used to absorb crash energy.
You can see the front drive unit here in this image from Munro & Associates, which took a closer look at the STLA Frame earlier this year. Ram hasn’t released any specs or told anyone we know of how this thing actually works, so we’re going to rely heavily on information from this Munro tour.
This tour revealed that the STLA Frame can support a battery pack with a minimum capacity of 159 kWh with a maximum size potentially above 200 kWh. That would help give the RAM a target range potentially up to 500 miles. Ram hints that it’ll out-class at least its arch rival Ford F-150 Lightning (which tops out at 320 miles) and potentially the GMC Sierra EV (400 miles max range).
Here’s the Super Bowl ad where the drunk dad from “The Flight Attendant” makes fun of Ford for “premature electrification” and then goes on to hint, via unsubtle ribald humor, that you’ll actually be able tow things with the RAM 1500 REV without losing a huge amount of range.
Unsurprisingly, the RAM 1500 REV uses a front-mounted motor that seems to leave a lot of room for a frunk and combines that with a rear motor to create an AWD truck (there’s also a big 4×4 badge on the back, which is a pretty good clue). It’s possible that RAM also offers a RWD-only, long-range model. Again, so far the brand hasn’t revealed much about the vehicle.
How The Ram 1500 Looks
If you forget the fantastic Ram 1500 Revolution concept, I think the production Ram 1500 REV is exactly what I’d expect and seems to take a lot from the F-150 playbook, which subtly altered the basic formula to create something notable but not too notable. Unfortunately, we loved the concept, and so this is a bit of a disappointment relative to that. Let’s just say that Adrian had some thoughts this morning when he saw the actual reveal.
Here’s the concept:
Here’s the production version:
Let’s focus on the obvious things first: They definitely kept the concept of the front grille with the light-up logo that seems like one unit.
Ram is also doing the thing that all EV truckmakers are doing which is to make the taillights bigger, as if more taillight indicates more electricity? It’s a weird, car-fins-getting-bigger moment in car design but we love taillights here so I guess no complaints.
There are no interior shots of the new Ram and I seriously doubt it’ll carry over the third-row feature of the concept, but I suspect we’ll get a big, juicy frunk similar to what we saw in the concept:
Here’s a photo of the RAM 1500 Revolution’s concept dashboard:
I do not think we’re going to get most of that, but assume some heavily toned-down version of it will end up on the production model.
In the rear you can clearly see the 4×4 badge as well as the outline of the RAMBOX, which is nice I suppose.
Overall Initial Thoughts
To say that this was a disappointment would be an understatement on the level of saying the film “Foodfight!“ was slightly underbaked. But Ram hasn’t told us anything about range, capabilities, it hasn’t show the interior or any of the toys.
We’ve got a truck that looks fine, I guess, but is many orders of magnitude less interesting than the concept. And we’ve got a bunch of thinly veiled dick jokes. It’s not my job to make decisions for car companies, but why even show the concept if the truck is going to be so plain?
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The Ram 1500 Revolution Is A Three-Row EV Wondertruck For The Future
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Photos: RAM, Munro & Associates
Goddamnit that commercial was pathetic. Really, truly, pathetic.
That commercial had all the subtlety and creativity of Calvin peeing on the Ford logo.
That commercial could be placed in a reboot of RoboCop and it would fit seamlessly.
That commercial appeals to the kind of person who puts a “My Truck Identifies As A Prius” bumper sticker on their 1500.
In other words, probably nailed the target market!
Uh no mention that it will have a range extender? Thats the whole point of their superbowl ad, it will have some small engine to serve as a charger to extend battery range.
Give me a PEV/BEV Suburban please.
How on Earth did they not decide to call this the Ramcharger?
Since it’s going to have a range extender, perhaps that’s what they’ll name the feature? “The Ram REV, with optional onboard RamCharger.”
reminds me of the late 90’s charger concept looking like a Charger of Yore with hidden rear doors. It was pretty Awesome in my mind, then 2004 came around.
https://www.motortrend.com/vehicle-genres/1999-dodge-charger-concept-car-retro-design/
Well that might be the quickest I went from “Hey that looks really unique and I might actually be interested in ” to “oh, nope, same stuff as always late to the party.”
Really, I’m not sure why I thought Dodge would make something revolutionary. Up until CES I would have guessed they would just slap some batteries between the frame rails years after the competition. You fooled me CES.
Wow RAM managed to take a concept I didn’t really like all that much, but was at least interesting and turn it into something incredibly boring and uninspiring.
Hey guys, remember how awesome the EV Ram looked?
Ok, now, remember when Dodge unveiled the EV Daytona Charger? Remember how awesome it looked?
I’m glad they got rid of the bed separation line from the concept and went with the more traditional vertical separation. The commercial hinted at a generator to prevent range anxiety, but any e truck owner can just get a Honda generator and put it in the back if they want something similar. You won’t be able to drive this as a with a diesel electric locomotive, though. That is way to inefficient and ineffective. I guess it will get you to the next charging station, and then you have to go to the next gas station to refill the generator.
Did you notice they said late 2024? Yawning, rolling over and hitting the snooze bar. Wake me when you have something to sell, Electro-Boy.
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