Electric pickup trucks are the biggest thing in EVs right now. Rivian struck first with the R1T, then GMC went big with the violently American Hummer EV. Next, Ford whipped out the white-hot F-150 Lightning, and Chevrolet is set to kick off production of the Silverado EV in just a few short months. Tesla also revealed a stainless steel douchedecahedron called the Cybertruck that was supposed to arrive two years ago but that still hasn’t happened yet. Given the way things are going, it might not happen until after GMC starts production of the Sierra EV in early 2024. Either way, everybody’s gunning for a share of that market and Ram won’t be left on the sidelines. While a production-spec electric Ram truck won’t happen until 2024, Stellantis’ truck branch just gave us a teaser of things to come with the Ram 1500 Revolution Concept.
The first thing you’ll notice about the Ram 1500 Revolution Concept is how it looks quite different from any Ram you’ve probably seen. There are a few good reasons for this, so let’s start with the big stuff. Ram has pushed the base of the windscreen forward to create more room in the cabin. This results in a short dash-to-axle ratio which looks a bit dorky compared to the pickups you’re used to seeing but should be incredibly useful. It’s a similar move to what GM’s pulled with the Chevrolet Silverado EV and will no doubt become commonplace in the electric truck market. Add in bedsides that overlap the cab, and you end up with a very weird profile.
Up front, Ram certainly had a challenge on its hands with the relatively small cooling openings required on an electric truck. After all, this is the brand that pioneered the semi truck look, so we’re talking a reinvention after 30 years of consistent design language. The new front end treatment is a good thing, a lot more subdued than the big rig grilles you get on gasoline-powered Ram trucks yet still purposeful. The black textured plastic should hold up well against theoretical highway sandblasting and plenty of real estate is dedicated to functional lights. That fresh set of daytime running lights is supposed to look like tuning forks but I’m seeing more Ninja Turtle mask than anything. Who wouldn’t want a Ninja Turtle truck?
Around back, the tail lights mimic the daytime running lights, while a split tailgate with a built-in bed extender looks seriously useful and far more elegant than the optional split tailgate on current Ram models. It could be that the panel gap really tighter, but all the trim on the tailgate could simply be more distracting than just an emblem.
Let’s talk about the Ram 1500 Revolution’s bed because it gets weird. Upon first glance, there is a very noticeable seam between the bed and the cab. However, once you get a look inside the bed, you’ll notice that there’s a midgate just like on a Chevrolet Avalanche for extending the bed length to haul long things. The Chevrolet Avalanche had a shared cab and bed assembly, yet the seam on the Ram 1500 Revolution Concept suggests separation of cab and bed. What’s going on here?
As it turns out, a bit of assembly and a bit of styling. The team at Stellantis built separate cab and bed assemblies for the Ram 1500 Revolution, then joined them together structurally at the seam. However, the seam doesn’t just serve a structural purpose, but also an aesthetic one, recalling the separately-mounted cabs and beds you see on traditional pickup trucks. It’s a unique melding of form and function that gives us insight into how this special show truck was made.
As for what’s underneath the sheetmetal, the Ram 1500 Revolution is a body-on-frame truck running on Stellantis’ STLA Frame architecture. If you’re not familiar with STLA Frame and how it slots into Stellantis’ long-term electrification plan, here’s a look at the company’s four vehicle platforms meant to launch Stellantis into the high-volume EV game:
As is fairly common among EVs, the Ram 1500 Revolution features a motor at the front, a motor at the back, and a battery pack in between. While motor outputs and battery pack specs haven’t been divulged, Ram states that the 1500 Revolution uses an 800-volt architecture, so it’s ready to plug into those fancy 350 kW charging stations.
Since electric motors typically necessitate independent suspension unless you want an axle-mounted motor pushing unsprung weight into ungodly territory, Ram’s been able to give the 1500 Revolution a few tricks in the handling department. Not only does it get air suspension like posh half-ton Rams of today, it also gets four-wheel steering with 15 degrees of maximum angle on the rear wheels. Should be a doddle to park, then. Mind you, it won’t always stay where you park it. This concept has a function where it will follow you as you walk, illuminating the path ahead. Someone’s been watching The Love Bug, I see.
Move to the cabin of the Ram 1500 Revolution and it’s very clear that this is a pure show vehicle. There’s a snowball’s chance in hell that any of this glitz will be seen in a production truck, and some of it just seems strange. I mean, a retractable steering wheel? No gauge cluster? A detachable lower infotainment screen? Weird. Still, the multi-panel glass roof is quite neat and I like the idea of armrests that can slide forward and flip open to become tables. Imagine eating Taco Bell off of those bad boys. Oh, and I adore the rear-hinged rear doors, they add such a sense of drama and the lack of a B-pillar really opens up interior access.
Perhaps the most unhinged idea on the Ram 1500 Revolution is the third-row seating. Attached to the mid-gate are flip-up jump seats that appear to offer all the comfort of the rear row in a ’90s extended cab compact truck. I’ll crop in on that photo above to give you a better look.
Given how occupants would surely be packed in like sardines, you’d think lawyers would immediately be up in arms over the concept. However, this is the same company that will sell you a 700-horsepower street car so long as your credit score is greater than two, so it looks like the streak of putting safety third shall continue. Hell yeah.
Speaking of hinged things, open up the front of the Ram 1500 Revolution and you’ll find a sizable frunk with some really neat storage solutions. Not only are there dividers and grocery bag hooks, but the frunk features two cupholders and a pass-through into the space occupied by the center console.
It’s worth keeping in mind that the Ram 1500 Revolution is still very much a concept. There’s no telling what styling elements will carry over to a production-spec electric Ram, although it doesn’t sound like a long wait before we find out.
Ram states in a press release that the 2024 Ram 1500 BEV is “to be introduced in the coming months.” Hopefully the Ninja Turtle front end makes it to Ram’s first mass-produced electric truck.
Photo credits: Ram
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Current RAM 1500 owner and past Chevy Volt owner here. I, like many truck owners, use my truck as a daily driver and use my truck to tow a load (in my case, a camper) 10-15 times a year.
My ideal truck would:
– have 40-60 miles of EV range
– have a range extender with enough power to allow towing at 65 mph (with some battery reserve for acceleration and hills).
– have enough payload to handle my trailer and 5 occupants in the vehicle.
Bonus points – let me use the range extender and on-board battery as a generator when boondocking my camper.
This would allow me to use only electric for about 80-90% of my miles and not have to stop to charge, (many times needing to unhook my trailer). The manufacturers all know at this point that EV trucks lose about half their range when towing.
Early EV RAM literature mentioned they had plans for a range extending gas engine, but I don’t see it in this concept, and that’s disappointing.
Wanting long range without a net battery drain? While running at a sustained elevated load? You need a full sized engine and gas tank, basically. *Plus* a pretty significant battery pack to push a pickup that far on EV mode (pickups being esceptionally inefficient)
It’s just not a good use case for a hybrid. (possibly the worst possible use case, actually), and I just don’t think anybody is going to build that vehicle.
It’s really a case of “buy an EV and rent/keeptheoldtruck for your occasional long distance towing needs”. Charging capabilities and availability arent going to be able to meet your towing needs any time soon.
I think it’s a great use for a plug-in hybrid, and would offset a lot of gas use. I don’t consider 10-15 uses a year for towing an occasional use, and since these are camping trips, the cost to rent a truck for 20-25 days a year would be 4-5 months of my truck payment. It’s also not easy to find a truck to rent that can tow a camper.
I’d sacrifice the frunk for a range extender and gas tank. I would imagine a turbo 2.0 or even smaller could provide more than enough power. Even towing, you are likely not using more than about 120kwh per hour. The engine in the 1st gen Volt put out 63kwh from a 149hp 1.4L NA engine, so something with under 300hp would do it… likely even less. If you cut 60-70% of the battery pack, there’s plenty of room for gas and you’ve cut similar weight to what the engine and tank add back in.
With mountains, the Volt had a mountain mode that you engaged about 20 minutes before a mountain and it charged the battery ahead of the climb so you could use it to assist. Regen on the downhill portions recharge the batteries and save brakes. Then you are ready for the next hill. It requires a bit of planning by the operator, but this could be integrated or at least prompted by GPS with a pop up message that says something like, “If you are continuing on this route, mountain mode is recommended for climbing the upcoming grade”. Torque of an electric motor is great for pulling a load up a mountain.
For acceleration, there was always a reserve portion kept in the battery to assist with acceleration.
Or a de Dion tube – the Ford Ranger EV, i-MiEV, and Smart ForTwo went that route. (The ForTwo and the JDM i also had it on ICE models, as it’s cheaper than an independent suspension – basically it’s a live axle without the unsprung weight.)
With this one vehicle, Dodge has managed to corner the market of Chevy Avalanche and Centurion Bronco drivers at the same time. whether or not that’s a good idea remains to be seen.
Wow, much truck, very pull, so payload.
But not INFINITE MASS pull
The fact it has what appears to be height adjustable air suspension definitely makes it look better in my eyes. However it has plenty that is still messed up about it.
1.) It has those stupid electric only door handles that don’t work when your 12 volt battery is dead.
2.) Those stupid doors are so long that because they are built to swing out you’d be door dinging people all the time even if you take up 2 parking spaces. They should slide like van doors.
3.) Going with an effectively one piece cab and bed is stupid for any Truck that’ll be used as a Truck
Ugh, I *wish* they’d put “van doors” on more vehicles!
But folks think the track is ugly (they’re not wrong) and that it’s uncool. I think you can work around the track, and that a forward sliding “van door” on a truck would be pretty cool.
Douchedecahedron is now part of my vocabulary.
I hope this eventually comes with an optional old-school RAM hood ornament, only where the horns on the ram are fed electricity to create a nifty Jacob’s ladder/arc-climb display.
Like a giant Taser on wheels!
Looks like a Pontiac TranSport (aka Dustbuster) mated with a… well with a Dodge RAM. Speaking of that, the Dustbuster minivan would make a hella nice retro-EV, IMHO.
This looks like it will be the variant of Ram with the lowest drag coefficient ever made, to this point. At the same time, it still manages to look oddly overly aggressive.
The styling (primarily side profile) reminds me of the Hyundai Santa Cruz I just bought, only giant-sized. I REALLY like this. If this is the direction that RAM is heading, they’ll have a winner on their hands.
“…the streak of putting safety third shall continue.”
Is that a reference to Burning Man, or has *Safety Third* seeped into general parlance? Regardless, like others here mentioned, clever writing in this piece.
Back to the truck. I think the exterior design is pretty cool and picks up Ram’s design elements with, dare I say it, taste. I don’t see Ninja Turtle in the headlamp design. The interior is whacky, but to be expected in a concept. Armrests that flip open to a table is a useful trick, and one that I hope goes to production. Suicide doors and no B pillar is fantastic from a usability perspective because some cargo can’t or shouldn’t be hauled in the bed, and a wide opening would be a godsend. I don’t quite understand the bed design, so I won’t comment on that.
Mike Rowe, of “Dirty Jobs” fame, uses the expression “Safety Third” quite a bit, made an episode of his show with that title, and has written several articles on his blog on the phrase.
https://mikerowe.com/2014/08/off-the-wall-safety-third-conversation-continues/
https://mikerowe.com/tag/safety-third/
He’s not being glib or even encouraging people to take risks with their safety. Rather, he uses the expression to underscore the fact that safety is never truly “first” and that no one is responsible for your personal safety other than you (he explains it better in his articles than I am summarizing it here). It’s made me think critically about mandatory safety protocols and my own sense of risk and safety when performing even mundane tasks.
But, back on topic, it’s a cool truck.
Well, there’s the 1923 Harold Lloyd movie “Safety Last”
I’ve had a “Safety Third” sticker on the dash of my race car since 2008.
Interesting. I’m guessing the third-row jumpseats don’t make production for this truck, but that some kind of third row option does show up in the 2nd gen, and then becomes more and more common thereafter. It just seems like a natural extension of the way trucks have been going, where the ideal is essentially a Yukon Denali but with a bed for cultural signaling purposes.
I mean, trucks are mostly bought as family vehicles nowadays. They’re primarily lifestyle signifiers for people who would really be best served by a minivan, and look what that’s meant for
SUVs I mean mid-sized crossovers: it’s meant first cramming third rows into vehicles that really don’t have the space for them, and then eventually finding ways to integrate third rows that are at least good enough for your kids’ friends to ride in between the Little League game and the ice cream stand.Trucks have been going in the same minivan-oriented direction, they’re just starting from further away. This concept foreshadows the next wave of truck design. I will concede though that the designers of this concept have gone to heroic lengths to mitigate the compromises necessitated by the third row, incorporating both a built-in bed extender and a midgate. I do like a midgate, and the integrated extender looks better and more useful than any aftermarket options I’ve seen on the road.
It’s an interesting concept. There are some solid ideas here, and also some stuff that I am less enthusiastic about but which I nevertheless can see becoming the new normal in 5-10 years, for better or worse. I’ll be curious to see what the production version looks like.
God dammit I forgot to close my strike tag and now just look at the mess I’ve made. When’s that new commenting system due to arrive? Can I at least maybe get a moderator up in here, pretty please?
I dunno, I am really enjoying that the unclosed strike tag even crosses out your likes. It’s a fun mess.
I read all of it thinking, “Why did he strike it all out. This seems like a decent take and I don’t see the counter take that negates the strike out text…” Then i read your second comment.
stick a canopy/cap on the back, and you basically have a fullsize SUV.
I wonder if TSLA investors shit their pants with each successive EV truck that’s announced…
They really did shit the bed with the Cybertruck.
Funny thing is, I liked the CT when it debuted. I love vaporwave and retrofuturism. It obviously needed work, but the initial prototype was so striking to me, as former design major.
But then the windows broke. Then they pulled it from the website. Then it turned into vaporware, instead of vaporwave.
Stellantis definitely imagined, “What would the Sam’s/BJ’s/Costco shopper of 2040 want?”
Cupholders in the frunk ? so my kidnap victims are comfortable ?
Never been under the hood of a late-model Challenger?
https://www.hellcat.org/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=1920,fit=scale-down/https://www.hellcat.org/attachments/image-jpg.10867/
Back to cab forward huh?
Thomas, your name will be inscribed in the nonexistent Hall of Great Writers for “douchedecahedron.”
Fuck yes, excellent coinage.
I respect how weird it is, but that interior is awful – and they’re not even pretending it’s a real truck, where you need big chunky knobs you can operate wearing big chunky gloves.
Can an entire elementary school class fit in the front blind spot? If not, it’s not masculine enough for me.
There will be an Oppenheimer type movie about the makers of this truck
I have become death, destroyer of worlds
I have become death, destroyer of pedestrians.
FTFY
I think they’re doing a new version of the movie Twister. Maybe the tornadoes are the good guys this time, trying to take out the oversized truck. Maybe that’s what they’ve been doing all along.
Except for the dually wanna be rear fenders I like this. Great job on the grill and I especially like the steering wheel.
Is it just me or does that look, erm ,rather large? Would a fully functional mini pick fit in the back?
“Who wouldn’t want a Ninja Turtle truck?”
Can I get it in green with RGB DRLs that can offer purple, blue, orange, or red on demand? Because I definitely want that. I don’t want to be limited to just one turtle.
The headlights actually remind of the 1965-1966 Dodge Polara.
It looks like androids dream of electric Rams and not sheep.