Ram SEMA Preview: Down or Dirty

Each autumn as the kiddos dress up for Halloween, FCA’s Mopar team heads to Vegas and the SEMA Show with a truckload of concept cars. The two production-based Ram offerings here represent a combination of currently available, soon-to-launch, and trial-balloon concept parts that might eventually be added to Mopar’s catalogue of 10,000 or so factory-engineered (and often warrantied) parts and accessories, 200 of which are for Ram trucks. Each concept is thematically conceived by Joe Dehner’s Ram exterior and Mopar design team with an aim toward widening Mopar’s slice of the $100 billion aftermarket pie.

Low Down Concept

The theme here is evil and badass, and the look starts with a “Brassphault” color palette with custom gloss black over billet silver two-tone paint job that is split along the bodyside’s A-line, with a thin “Brass Monkey” paint stripe dividing the colors. The power-bulge hood and new “1500 HEMI 5.7” badges are concept parts. Just below them is a new “Ram Airflow” cold-air intake system that is scheduled for imminent production (note that what looks like a ram-air intake in the new hood is not feeding this intake). The rigid tonneau that covers it, the hydraulic struts that support it, and the spray-in bedliner are all currently available. As the name implies, the chassis is lowered 2 inches front and rear using a prototype lowering kit. The body also features currently available Mopar fender flares with exposed fasteners framing production gloss black 22-inch wheels with Brass Monkey accents shod in 235/45R22 Goodyear Eagle Touring street tires. Based on a Big Horn trim grade crew cab, the interior is mildly upgraded with custom Low Down badging, Mopar sill plates, and concept billet-milled pedal covers that are expected to appear soon in the catalogue.

Rebel Mopar Design Concept

The trail-ready Rebel gets a further 2-inch suspension lift and currently available Mopar 8.0 x 18-inch satin black bead-lock wheels (modified by painting the locking rings to match the custom “Rebel Smoke” neutral blue body color) wearing 35 x 12.50R18LT Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac tires. A fifth wheel and tire ride in the bed on conceptual mount. Production wheel flares and gray metallic skidplates are fitted for trail protection. The same new concept hood shown on the Low Down appears here but with a matte black graphic in the center, and beneath it lies the same Ram Airflow cold-air induction kit. The other big concept part shown here is the Ram Bar that serves as a mount for five high-intensity 4,800-lumen LED off-road lights. The rear flanks of the pickup box are adorned with matte black Rebel graphics that will become available soon, and the cast aluminum running boards are in the catalogue now. Rounding out the exterior package are Mopar 5-inch gloss black exhaust tips, a spray-in bedliner, and badging that is all rendered in a gray metallic finish. Inside, everything that’s typically anodized in red is now black, with all-weather mats, brushed and polished sill plates, and concept billet pedal covers fitted.

Ram 3500 BrewMaster

This ProMaster van concept broke cover at SEMA a few years back, but for 2019 the Mopar Design crew “re-mastered” it with a new matte black over white with blue stripes color scheme (painting those bumpers required laboriously “surfacing” the textured-finish gray originals to accept the smooth white finish you see), and a new Brass Monkey finish on the custom 20-inch wheels. Inside, the beer taps are still topped by classic and modern Mopar shift knobs and the interior is redecorated with vintage and modern Mopar signs.

The post Ram SEMA Preview: Down or Dirty appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend https://ift.tt/2yA1UiT