Ram 1500 2021: next-gen large ute arriving shortly, TRX super-ute to follow

---

The fifth-generation Ram 1500 ute will go on sale in Australia in the first quarter of 2021, where it will sit alongside its predecessor in Ram Trucks Australia’s growing line up.

Ram will adopt the same strategy in Australia as the United States, where the fourth-generation 1500 remains on sale under ‘Classic’ branding.

Ram Trucks Australia is said to be inundated with orders for the new Ram 1500 after it started taking deposits and expressions of interest from customers in late 2020.

Later in the year, the Ram 2500 Heavy Duty will also be added to the Australian lineup, offering buyers and even larger and more capable rig focussed on heavyweight towing.

Customers with pre-orders will be the first to secure their fifth-generation 2021 Ram 1500, and while the exact trim levels that will be available are yet to be determined, Chasing Cars understands all new 1500 models will be highly specified.

While a final price list is yet to be released, the incoming fifth-generation 2021 Ram 1500 will kick off above the price of the existing ‘Laramie’ grade – that is to say, the new vehicle will cost more than $104,950 before on-road costs.

Distribution of Ram vehicles in Australia is an Ateco Group operation. Its public relations consultant Oliver Peagam explained to Chasing Cars that the left- to right-hand-drive conversion team at Walkinshaw’s Melbourne factory had a big job ahead of them.

“We’ve already taken a significant amount of deposits [on the Ram 1500] and we’ve basically sold everything that we’ve built, you can order one now but it will take a few months to come through,” Mr Peagam said.

The existing fourth-gen Ram 1500, which carries the chassis code ‘DS’, starts at $79,950 before on-road costs for the lower-end Express Quad Cab variant. The range takes in a number of variants, capped by the top-shelf Laramie Crew Cab that costs $109,950 before on-roads.

With the incoming DT-chassis fifth-generation Ram 1500 set to be priced above the fourth-gen variants, Mr Peagam said the local Ram line up would continue to offer the DS so the brand had a lower entry price point, a strategy which is mirrored in the United States.

The Ram 1500 TRX is also earmarked to arrive in Australia at some point in 2021, with a slew of buyers placing their interest for the high-performance ute that is built to tackle the off-road at an alarming rate of speed.

Under the bonnet of the hi-po TRX is a 6.2-litre supercharged Hemi V8 engine, which sends 523kW of power and 881Nm of torque to a strengthened all-wheel-drive system. Ram has also fitted a launch control system that will slingshot the near six-metre long ute from 0 to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds.

The 1500 TRX will act as an even larger alternative to the Ford Ranger Raptor, with Bilstein shock absorbers providing 33cm and 35.5cm of travel at the front and rear respectively, with 30 centimetres of ground clearance overal.

Mr Peagam says the 1500 TRX will initially be sold in limited numbers, but if the demand is there and the Ram factory in Sterling Heights, Michigan continues to manufacture the TRX, the supercharged ute could become a series model in the Australian lineup.

The Ram line up will also be joined by the fifth-generation 2500 Heavy Duty in the second or third quarter of 2021.