Tough new Latin American dual-cab ute looks like a shrunken 1500; may provide clues to RAM’s Toyota HiLux fighter
RAM Brazil’s new mid-size pick-up will be called the ‘Rampage’ when it makes its full global debut in the coming months, with the South American division having just outed the new dual-cab ute’s exterior design in a fresh teaser clip explaining the significance of the nameplate.
It’s still unclear whether this version of 2024 RAM Rampage will be the one we see Down Under – though it’s unlikely – and even if it isn’t, it should provide us with a rough idea of what RAM’s trans-Pacific rival for the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger fighter will look like when it arrives in Australia.
The short answer is a shrunken RAM 1500, which is no surprise given RAM has a very specific design identity and the trend among US pick-up manufacturers is to make mid-size models look a lot like their full-size stablemates – witness the Ford Ranger/F-150, Chevrolet Colorado/Silverado and Toyota Tacoma/Tundra.
There are of course a couple of key differences. The Rampage’s grille angles in at the bottom more drastically than the 1500’s, and it features thinner headlight clusters, subtler bonnet bulging, different body sculpting and unique tail-lights, but the overall theme is largely the same.
Previous teasers have shown off a tech-focused and luxurious cabin design, again retaining some of the RAM 1500’s overt interior chunkiness.
We’re yet to learn of any key mechanical details beyond the inclusion of a turbocharged petrol engine, which has more than likely been lifted from the North American Jeep Compass given the Brazilian Rampage shares its monocoque platform with the compact SUV as well as the Fiat Toro.
The Brazil-centric promotion of the its development and construction largely rules the Rampage out for the Australian market, however, RAM is also cooking up a traditional ladder-frame version of the dual-cab 4×4 pick-up in the US.
Although it will debut as an EV, combustion-powered versions will go toe-to-toe with world’s most popular mid-size utes including the Aussie-developed Ford Ranger, as well as the Chevrolet Colorado and Toyota Tacoma.
The latter is closely related to the Toyota HiLux, the top-selling new vehicle in Australia, where no car-based (unibody) pick-ups are currently offered, which is why we’ll receive the eventual ladder-frame RAM Rampage (or ‘Dakota’).
For anyone still scratching their heads over where the Rampage name originates, the nomenclature previously adorned a car-based, front-drive pick-up not dissimilar to the old Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon utes.
The original Dodge Rampage was offered in North America over 1982-1984 and was also sold as the Plymouth Scamp.
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Keyword: 2024 RAM Rampage pick-up revealed