RAM TRX spied in testing

FCA’S truck brand, RAM, confirmed last year it was working on a production version of its RAM Rebel TRX Concept vehicle from 2016, and spy photographers have caught an R&D mule of the Ford F150 Raptor challenger in testing.

The 2016 concept was powered by FCA’s then-new supercharged Hellcat V8 Hemi engine, and the photographer who caught these images said the mule had the wail of a supercharger coming from it as it quickly left the scene when FCA employees saw the cameras coming out. This suggests the truck hides the 707hp (527kW) Hellcat under its bulbous bonnet.

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Of course, the 2016 TRX concept was built on the then-current model, while this vehicle clearly shows the current and heavily revised 2019 RAM 1500 wearing aftermarket alloy wheels and BFGoodrich tyres.

Gone are the concept’s vented bonnet, side-exiting exhaust and bed-rack-mounted spare tyres, but we expect there’s some trick suspension hiding beneath the production vehicle’s ’guards if this truck is ever likely to keep up with the likes of Raptor when off-road.

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RAM Trucks Australia debuted its RAM 1500 last week, but it is based on the older RAM Classic which still sells alongside the new model in the USA. However, that doesn’t mean any of the other companies currently importing, converting and selling RAM 1500 in Australia won’t bring in the production version of the TRX when it goes on sale late in 2019.