It’s curtains up for the Ram Rampage. The brand’s Brazilian division revealed the small, unibody truck’s design in a short preview video.
As predicted, the Rampage borrows more than a few styling cues from the bigger, body-on-frame 1500. It features a tall, upright front end with a big “RAM” logo in the middle of the grille and horizontal lights with LED accents. The bulged hood is 1500-like as well, and “RAM TURBO” emblems positioned near the base of the A-pillars create another visual link between the Rampage and its bigger sibling. Keep in mind that we might be looking at an upmarket model, however, and base versions of the little truck could land with a less brawny design.
The similarities between the two pickups largely stop there. Viewed from the side, the Rampage looks closer to the Fiat Toro (another unibody truck developed for and sold in Latin America) than to the 1500. The c-pillar is slanted, and there’s no shut line between the cab and the cargo box. Out back, the Rampage features a tailgate with an integrated spoiler and a “RAM” emblem plus a pair of vertical LED lights.
Ram still isn’t ready to reveal what’s under the body, but an unverified report claims the Rampage rides on an evolution of the platform that underpins the Dodge Hornet and the Alfa Romeo Tonale, among other models. It allegedly measures 197 inches long, 73 inches wide, and 71 inches tall, figures that make it approximately three inches shorter and two inches taller than the Ford Maverick and just as wide.
Similarly, we’ll need to be patient to find out what’s on the palette of available engines. The same report claims the Rampage will launch with a 2.0-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engine, and that a gasoline-burning 2.0-liter turbo-four will join the range later in the production run. We’re guessing that front-wheel-drive will come standard and all-wheel-drive will be optional, though keep in mind that nothing is official yet.
Ram will fully unveil the Rampage in the coming weeks, but nothing suggests that the model will fight head-to-head against the Maverick in the United States. The brand stresses that the Rampage was developed with input from American engineers but for the Latin American market.
Do you think the Rampage should join the Ram lineup in the United States? Let us know in the comments.