Unibody truck could go into battle with the Toyota HiLux and Hyundai Santa Cruz
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–> by Chris Chilton
4 hours ago
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by Chris Chilton
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Ram is part of the global Stellantis empire, and that means it has access to all kinds of platforms and engine components to build vehicles of different shapes and sizes, even if it doesn’t offer them all in every market.
In the U.S. we’re familiar with Ram’s full-size 1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks, and since the Dakota was killed off in 2011 that’s all the company has had to offer. But some countries get, or have in the past been offered a selection of small unibody trucks, including the Ram 700, 1000, and 1200, and it’s a new version of that last truck that we think our spy photographers have locked onto this time.
We’ve captured prototypes of a new 1200 a couple of times before, but on both occasions, they were wearing the kind of crude, boxy disguise that automakers used to cover their secret cars back in the 1980s. But this time we caught it dressed down and wearing a fairly simple camo wrap.
The rear bed area is still heavily disguised to obscure the shape of the C-pillar and rear window, but we’re expecting the finished result to have a slightly sportier look than your typical square-rig mid-size and full-size truck. In fact, we won’t be surprised if the 1200 turns out to look just like a shrunken version of the Ram 1500 Revolution electric concept.
Related: 2024 Ram 1200 Spied Testing Alongside The Fiat Toro
The production version of that EV show car is a traditional boxy truck that bears little resemblance to the concept. But the concept’s more daring, athletic lines would work perfectly on a smaller truck that’s hoping to appeal to a younger audience. Even with all that camo in place, we can still see that the waistline rises as it approaches the bed, that the back of the rear door is cut in an arrow shape, and that the wheel arches have a pronounced square shape, characteristics it shares with the Ram 1500 Revolution concept.
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Though we know the 1200 will be a unibody truck we’re not yet 100 percent certain which platform Ram will use. Some have speculated it will get the new Stellantis STLA Large platform, but the design of both the rear suspension components including a visible rear coil spring and separate damper suggests it might be a stretched version of the older FCA architecture used by the Fiat Toro and the Jeep Renegade and Compass.
That would give the 1200 car-like ride and handling characteristics and access to a range of efficient four-cylinder and PHEV drivetrains that could help it be competitive in the small truck class around the world, including South America. But will it come to North America? We know Ram in the U.S. is interested in developing a smaller truck to fit below the 1500, but do you see this as a viable rival for the Hyundai Santa Cruz and hugely popular Ford Maverick? Leave a comment and let us know.
