Since the demise of the Dodge Dakota in 2011, Dodge truck (Error Ram) enthusiasts have begged the Auburn Hills-based automaker to bring back the midsize pickup offering. Instead, Ram remains focused on offering his Gen4 Ram 1500 Classic full-size truck, and other Detroit automakers have revived and improved upon their popular smaller options over the years. rice field.
In other parts of the world, the story of the Ram brand is different. In need of a light truck to expand its global portfolio, Ram has turned to other manufacturers for help.
For several years in the 2010s, Ram offered the Middle East market a midsize pickup called the Ram 1200. The Ram 1200 was nothing more than a rebadged Mitsubishi Triton (L200) pickup and offered in Single Cab or Crew Cab configurations. He had two engine options, a 2.5-liter diesel with an output of 126 or 134 hp (depending on configuration), or a 2.4-liter petrol engine producing 130 hp. The truck never sold well, so when Mitsubishi decided to merge with automakers Renault and Nissan, the partnership was dissolved.
Ram’s story in the Latin American (LATAM) market is very different. Ram continues to grow at an impressive rate. The LATAM region consists of countries that are poorer than markets such as Europe and the Middle East, but Ram looks to his FIAT brand for help.
FIAT, which dominates the region by sales, especially in the pickup market, continues to supply pickup products to American brands in counties it does not sell. Ram remains a key player in his LATAM market, thanks to the success of the subcompact Fiat Strada (Ram 700) and compact Fiat Toro (Ram 1000). However, there were some obstacles.
For example, in Brazil, FIAT dominates over 50% of pick-up service sales. The other, Ram, continues to break records as a ‘premium’ brand by offering full-size pickups, but cannot compete with the Fiat brothers for their presence. That’s about to change with the upcoming introduction of the all-new Ram 1200.
Codenamed “Project 291”, the Ram 1200 is a unibody-based midsize pickup built specifically for Ram to compete in LATAM. Based on the Fiat Chrysler Small-Wide 4×4 LWB architecture that powers the Jeep® Compass, Jeep Commander, and Fiat Toro, the Ram 1200 is not a badged engineered pickup. Instead, it will be slightly larger than the Fiat Toro, sharing much of its underpinnings with and being built alongside the successful Jeep Commander D-SUV.
Our good friends at Autos Segredos (Auto Secrets) recently sent us these shots of one of the new Project 291 mules on the streets of Brazil. The new Ram midsize pickup won’t hit the North American market, but will instead become a key part of the Ram brand’s future in Latin America, according to a Brazilian publication.
Its styling is similar to the North American Ram 1500, but nothing else. According to AutosSegredos, Ram will offer two powertrains. The first is a 2.0-liter in-line four-cylinder engine that can run on petrol or ethanol. The 2.2-liter inline 4-cylinder turbodiesel is also a strong candidate.
The truck will only come in a crew cab four-door configuration, but when it hits the market it should have a much more usable (longer) bed than the Fiat Toro/Ram 1000. Based on the Commander, you can expect the same four-wheel drive (4×4).
Inside, you should expect things like a customizable digital cluster, a Uconnect 5 HD touchscreen media center with built-in navigation, wireless smartphone charging, and all the comforts you’ll find on larger Ram products.
Expect to learn more about the new unibody-based pickup as summer approaches.
For more photos of this brand new Ram pickup, visit AutosSegredos.com.