Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.Everything comes from somewhere. When the 2027 RamRumble Bee lineup debuted as (another) Hemi swan song, I was immediately reminded of a car from my childhood. I didn't care for trucks then (big Ferrari guy), but someone in my neighborhood boasted a bright yellow truck with what seven-year-old-me thought was a pretty sick bee graphic on the side. It was the ol' bite-of-Ratatouille-moment when I saw the new truck - instantly catapulted back in time to something I thought I'd forgotten. I never cared about that yellow truck because it wasn't a red Ferrari, but one time I heard it start. After that, I paid attention to the original fast V8 muscle truck from Dodge.Ram's OG Rumble Bee Could Now Be Considered Vintage Y2K AmericanaBring a TrailerView the 2 images of this gallery on the original articleAdvertisementAdvertisementThe OG Rumble Bee was based on the third-generation Dodge Ram, which ran from 2002 to 2009. During the truck's production run, a few bonkers performance trucks left Dodge's facilities. The one everyone remembers is the Ram SRT-10, the stick-shift, Viper-powered uber truck. The Rumble Bee, in comparison, seems pretty humble.Of course, it isn't. The Ram Rumble Bee was the opposite of most fast trucks today: kept low to the ground, plastered with race-inspired graphics and upgrades. Chief among those was the fuel-injected 5.7-liter Hemi V8 that startled me into caring as a seven-year-old. It makes quite a bit less power than the new ones, but at the time, the V8's 345 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of torque were plenty. Though the V8 is a bigger deal today, it turns out that 345 horsepower is the same as if you'd gone and just bought a V8 1500 off the lot. The sauce was in the limited-slip differential and transfer case that made the Rumble Bee more street truck than off-road machine.Bring a TrailerThe truck was sold only for two years, with a limited production run. Each comes with a plaque indicating the truck's build number, and no matter the color, all were configured the same: with the truck's shortest cab and bed option for maximum agility. The whole thing is, after all, a callback to Dodge's Super Bee models from its muscle car heyday.A Rumble Bee package was also added to help the truck stand out more. This included a hood scoop, 20-inch wheels, a Rumble Bee-specific body kit, Solar Yellow paint with Rumble Bee graphics, Solar Yellow interior trim, and that serialized plaque.Bring a TrailerView the 3 images of this gallery on the original articleAdvertisementAdvertisementThe truck was still a truck. Even with the shorter sub-six-foot bed, the interior featured a 40-20-40 folding seat, allowing it to go from bench seat to armrest, to folded opening for storage. The newest 1500 generation itself brought plenty of changes to the 1500, including a totally new frame, suspension setup, interior, and powertrain options. At the time, this was all received positively by the media. The truck was capable, comfy, and offered plenty of power to supplement it all. The Rumble Bee package made the whole thing much more enticing, as Dodge had a whole lineup of muscle trucks consisting of this and the SRT-10 at the time. Despite it all, the Rumble Bee eventually waned in popularity and was phased out for the 2005 model year.Return, Revival, Reinvention: The 2027 Ram 1500 Rumble BeeView the 2 images of this gallery on the original articleDecades later, in the middle of what could still be an en masseshift towards electric cars, Ram decided it was time to bring back its muscle truck, against all odds. Not only that, but it expanded the lineup. While there's no V10 truck anymore, the Rumble Bee lineup expands to the three trims below.1500 TrimPowertrainPower0-60Quarter-MileRumble Bee5.7L V8395 HP, 410 lb-ft6.1 Seconds14.6 Seconds @ 93 MPHRumble Bee 3926.4L V8470 HP, 455 lb-ft5.2 Seconds13.2 Seconds @ 101 MPHRumble Bee SRTSupercharged 6.2L V8777 HP, 680 lb-ft3.4 Seconds11.6 Seconds @ 116 MPHThe Rumble Bee SRT is the range topper. It'll use the same engine as the TRX, making 777 hp from its supercharged V8 and 680 pound-feet of torque. That's more than double what the old one made, and Ram has said it is targeting a 170-mph top speed. More than that, Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis has said the truck has already managed to beat the top speed record set by the SRT 10: 154.587 mph.AdvertisementAdvertisementOther variants include the Rumble Bee and Rumble Bee 392, as well as an available Track Pack for the 392. Ram will also offer these with the smaller Quad Cab and short bed, effectively recreating the old Rumble Bee in the aggregate by making the 1500 13 inches shorter than its standard configuration. Every Rumble Bee also offers four-wheel drive, unlike the original, but also features a front-axle disconnect. The missing component here is pricing. Ram hasn't announced it yet, but you can pick up the world's nicest OG Rumble Bee for less than $30k, so keep that in mind.This story was originally published by Autoblog on Jun 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
+9 others
