Ram 1500 Spotted With Four-cylinder, Internet Goes Wild
Spy shots are circulating that show a current-generation Ram 1500 pickup with something missing under the hood.
The picture on the side of the milk carton contains at least two cylinders, as this unusual Ram variant has dispensed with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ familiar V6 and V8 engines. Yup, this Ram packs an inline-four.
Sitting low in the tall vehicle’s engine bay, partially obscured by a towering radiator, the four-cylinder engine can’t hide its tell-tale characteristics. Clearly, the vehicle is a test mule, but for what?
That’s what the speculation machine is trying to figure out. FCA is feverishly readying the next-generation Ram 1500 for a January 2018 production deadline, but the upcoming full-size model might not be the engine’s destination.
With Ford preparing a U.S.-market Ranger for 2019, and with General Motors already reaping the rewards of offering two midsize pickups, FCA could finally be bowing to market demand. Is this engine bound for a baby Ram model? So far, no such model has been confirmed, though it makes sense that FCA would pursue one if big returns were all but guaranteed.
A turbocharged 2.0-liter “Hurricane” four should appear in the 2018 Jeep Wrangler, rumored to make in the area of 300 horsepower. That’s enough to move a full-size truck, especially a slightly lighter one that is expected to adopt a 48-volt mild hybrid system. Then again, it could be a wholly new diesel engine.
We’re left waiting to see what becomes of this intriguing development.
[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]
More by Steph Willems
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I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed. Not w/the 4cyl story, but that I clicked on a truck story and the reader comments weren't oddly focused on penis size. Are we finally making progress?
It's a cummins 4 cylinder turbo.. For the ram and the wrangler and the wrangler pickup and the Durango and the jeep grand cherokee and the grand wagoneer 1500
Don't all those indestructible Toyota Hiluxs have a 4cyl?
Now that they've discontinued the Chrysler 200 and the Dodge Dart they need to do something with those leftover TigerShark 4-cylinder engines. I can hardly wait for the upcoming Ram Abarth 1500.