A Closer Look at The 2021 Ram Rebel TRX
The truck scene hasn’t really been competitive since the Ford F-150 Raptor made its debut about a decade ago. From then on, Ford has been rolling out models that have occupied the zenith of the truck world. This isn’t to say that other brands haven’t been trying. For sure, GMC, Toyota, Chevy, Nissan, and Ram have all released models, but none of them have been able to topple over the wide-bodied 450 horsepower desert monster that is the Ford F-150 Raptor. That may be about to change. Ram released the concept model for the Rebel TRX back in 2016, and after that, it crept back into the abyss of the unknown. It wasn’t up until 2018 that an email seemed to ascertain that the company was indeed in the process of designing the car. Since then, motor aficionados and truck fanatics have been waiting in anticipation for its release.
On June 25, 2020, Ram released a teaser trailer on its official Twitter account, showing the supposed Rebel TRX tuck creating chaos on the sands of the desert. Accompanying the video was the caption ‘Ram TRX | Late Summer 2020. This video directly contradicts everything that was known about the truck and its release date. According to Fiat Chrysler’s initial presentation, the car was to have a 2022 model. Consequently, this meant that the said model would make its debut in 2021. It wasn’t until late last year the information surfaced that the Rebel would premier in June in the 2020 North American International Auto Show. However, with the said event being canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the release date was pushed back to ‘late summer’. Some sources report that the truck will come out on September 22, with its mass production beginning in September 8.
It’s going down
Contrary to what has been reported previously, it does look like the 2021 Ram Rebel TRX will actually see the light of day. With the complexity associated with its design during the conception stage, it is no wonder that some critics didn’t see it as a possibility.
Testing Tapes
No secret can be kept properly hidden from everyone, more so one that involves a heavily anticipated thing like the Rebel TRX. A video was uploaded on YouTube in May, showing a heavily camouflaged Rebel TRX truck undergoing road testing. Even from the general silhouette of the vehicle, you could clearly pick out the wider body, increased height, and oversized tires; all this indications that the truck will be a beast on the road. You cannot help but think that this could be the truck to seriously rival Ford’s trucks.
The devil is in the detail.
What made this Ram truck so interesting and polarizing was that even in its concept stage, the car makers had already decided to use the Hellcat engine, akin to the ones you will find in the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and the Dodge Challenger Hellcat. This put the Ram one-up against the Ford Raptor. The twin-turbo V-6 engine looks like a dwarf compared to the 6.2-liter, supercharged engine the concept Ram Rebel had.
The Dodge Challenger Hellcat had 707-horsepower, just to paint a picture of how this engine is powerful. The concept truck used a detuned version of this engine, and the output was a staggering 575 horsepower. For context, the Ford Raptor’s is 450 hp. It is also rumored that the final make’s will be well over 700 horsepower, which isn’t a stretch considering the engine highest recorded output is 797 horsepower. It is also likely that the truck makers will reduce the high horsepower in preference for a huge torque figure, as is recurrent in other truck designs.
Inside the belly of the beast
In the YouTube video posed, we get a somewhat blurred perspective on what will be in the final model of the car. However, everything floating around is hearsay. Nobody know exactly what will be inside the truck, it infotainment system, the interior finish or even whether the truck will have a two-seater or 4-seater model.
Notwithstanding, considering the amount of time and effort Ram has put into designing this truck, one cannot help but expect top-tier interior design and finishing. If this vehicle is to rival not just the 2019 model of the Ford Raptor but also the upcoming 2020 model, then Ram must pull out all the stops to make sure that it is in the upper echelons in the trucking world.
Big body
As we stated earlier, spy shots taken from the truck indicated that we are in for a monstrous vehicle. Just like the concept model suggested, the truck is likely to have a brawny structure with some flared styling. The gigantic tires with flared benders and the high ride height make this a gargantuan.
Pricing
With all the upsides this truck has, it is only right that its price will be proliferated. I mean, the price for the Dodge Challenger increased by 8705 dollars after its switch to the Hellcat engine, and the Grand Cherokee saw an 18,505-dollar hike when it did the same.
Obviously all this plays a huge actor in the eventual outcome of the purchase price, but if the Ram Rebel TRX is to pose any threat to the Ford Raptor that costs 53,455 dollars, then car makers may be forced to put up a price almost akin to that. All things considered, it is only right that we brace ourselves for a hike of some sort in the car’s price.
As for this moment, with the knowledge we have so far, we can only let out imaginations run wild on what the final Ram Rebel 2020 will look like. Eventually, it will hit the auto stores, but even then, it must be of resounding success if it is to put up any sort of fight with the next model of the Ford Raptor.
