Ram‘s upcoming Toyota Hilux-sized unibody pickup has been spied once again with less of the heavy black camouflage.
Codenamed Project 291 and potentially called the Ram 1200, development of this ute is reportedly being led by Stellantis’ Latin American operations.
This latest spied prototype gives us a better look at the overall silhouette of the pickup. The headlights appear to be production-ready, and there are also a set of dual exhaust outlets.
Brazilian publication Autos Segredos reported in December last year the Ram 1200 is set to launch in Brazil in the second half of 2023.
It will also reportedly be based on the unibody Small-Wide 4×4 long-wheelbase architecture underpinning the likes of the Jeep Compass and its three-row Commander sibling, as well as the Brazilian Fiat Toro ute which is sold as the Ram 1000 in some markets.
Autos Segredos reports the 1200 will share a great deal with the Jeep Commander, including its front doors, A-pillars and windscreen, but will other draw design inspiration from the large Ram 1500.
The Ram 1200 will also reportedly be offered in familiar Laramie, Rebel and Longhorn trims.
It could offer a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine with around 149kW of power and 440Nm of torque, plus a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 194kW. Both will use a nine-speed automatic transmission.
The Ram 1200 is expected to be close in size to the body-on-frame Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger. This means it’s likely to be larger than the Ram 1000 and Ram 700, the latter of these being a rebadged version of the Fiat Strada ute.
It’s unclear whether the Ram 1200 will be exported beyond Latin America at this stage. Since being spun off from the Dodge brand in 2010, Ram has sold only one pickup smaller than the 1500 in North America: the Dakota, a rebadged Dodge Dakota that was only offered until 2011.
Elsewhere, Ram sold a rebadged Fiat Fullback, itself a lightly restyled Mitsubishi Triton, from 2016 to 2019 in the Middle East and Africa.
Stellantis reportedly showed off a Ford Ranger-sized electric pickup concept alongside a Ram 1500 REV and a next-generation Dodge Durango SUV concept at a recent dealer conference in Las Vegas.
As reported by Automotive News, this Ram mid-sized electric pickup concept is said to look similar to the wild 1500 Revolution concept that was revealed at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.
It’s unclear if this mid-sized electric pickup concept and the spied Ram 1200 prototype are related at all.
Last year Stellantis teased in wireframe a new mid-sized electric pickup among a fleet of vehicles on the new STLA Large platform for the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands.
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MORE: 2024 Ram 1200 spied
