The small pickup should be added to the North American lineup.
Production is currently in Brasil.
Ram has not offered a small pickup since the cancellation of the Ram Dakota in 2011.
Since the arrival of the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz on the North American market, one question remains unanswered: which manufacturer will dare to take on the only two compact pickups currently available on our roads?
According to thedrive.com, Ram will be stepping into the relatively niche leisure truck market with the Rampage, a new version of the Ram 1000 that has been sold in Latin America for a few years now. The name of this pickup based on a monocoque platform might me familiar to some since the Dodge brand used this name on a pickup version of its Omni 024 coupe in the 1980s.
Of course, the vehicle, which has yet to be fully unveiled, will have to share the dimensions imposed by the other two compact pickups, a formality given the popularity of these less imposing pickups south of the American border.
The Brazilian division of Ram has already shown darkened photos of the famous Rampage via a YouTube video, and it’s clear that the new design bears a strong resemblance to the popular Ram 1500, which is excellent news for the brand’s North American strategists, if only to appeal to fans of the brand.
The vehicle shown also has a crew cab, a configuration it shares with the other two compact pickups of the moment. Also worth mentioning is the small detail seen on the rear position light, where an American flag is drawn with LED light technology.
As mentioned in thedrive’s article, the Brazilian location for the production of this truck is problematic due to the 25% Chicken Tax imposed on light trucks imported into the USA. Instead, the manufacturer could turn to its Mexican plant in Toluca, where the Jeep Compass is taking shape. In fact, the future Rampage and Compass share the same architecture, which could facilitate the transfer of some production to the Mexican plant.
It’s too early to say what might power the compact truck, but the 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine seems a good candidate, while even a turbodiesel option could cross the border until electrified reinforcements arrive. Ram could indeed add a hybrid or even purely electric powertrain within the next few years.
The Ram Rampage should be unveiled soon, and we shouldn’t be surprised to see the manufacturer reconfirm the arrival of this little truck on North American soil.
