RAM 1500 Revolution Electric Pickup Truck Introduced at CES
Why on earth is a pickup truck like the RAM Revolution being featured at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show? Maybe it’s the fact that is has two 14.2-inch touchscreens, one of which is removable for use outside the vehicle, or Shadow Mode, which allows the truck to follow its owner at low speeds when climbing in to move it a short distance is too cumbersome. Then there is the AI function that scans the bar code on a product or measures it with a camera to instantly determine whether it will fit in the truck and where.
The electrochromatic glass roof can lighten or darken on command and sensors can scan the biometrics of the driver to adjust the seat and mirrors to fit. There is a large heads-up display on the front windshield and a robot that scurries under the front of the truck to enable wireless charging when parked in the garage. That’s why the RAM Revolution is at CES.
Lower & Sleeker
One of the first things you notice about the RAM Revolution is that it is significantly lower than the conventional truck. The company won’t say how much lower exactly, but a good guess would be at least 6 inches. That goes against the trend in the truck world in which pickups have been getting taller and taller over the last decade — to the point where they need little steps under the door and in the rear bumper to people can access the cab and the load bed.
The front of the truck is quite a bit lower than the front of the current production truck, which is contrary to the current trend in the truck world as well. Most conventional pickups seem to tower over other vehicles. Look in the rearview mirror with a RAM 1500 behind and you might be forgiven for thinking Mount Blanc or the Exxon Valdez was on your tail.
The reason, of course, is aerodynamics. While a diesel engine doesn’t much care if it is pushing the equivalent of a barn door through the air, an electric vehicle needs to cleave the air as efficiently as possible if it wants to have enough range to get to the hardware store and back on a single charge.
The RAM Revolution is just a concept at this point. The company is not releasing many technical details, yet over at GM, the goal is for its Silverado EV to have up to 400 miles of range. One model will reportedly have a 20,000 lb. towing capacity, so those are the targets RAM must strive for if it wants to be fully competitive. A year ago, RAM hinted that its upcoming pickup truck might have a range extender engine built in. There was no mention of such a thing at the CES reveal.
What we do know is that the RAM Revolution is built on its own ladder and frame chassis that shares nothing with the frame of the existing RAM pickup. We also know the battery pack is installed between the frame rails rather than beneath them, which helps lower the body for better aerodynamic efficiency. Despite the lower height, the passenger cabin is larger — cavernous might be a better word. With no engine and transmission to work around, the designers have pushed the cab and windshield forward for more passenger space while saving room for a large frunk.
At the back of the cab is a mid-gate with a pass-through door to allow longer objects to fit inside. Together with an extended tailgate, the RAM Revolution can accommodate objects up to 18 feet in length. There are also two jump seats built in to the mid-gate for a semblance of third row seating.
Performance
Electric vehicles are famous for their instant acceleration and stump-pulling torque. The RAM Revolution will not disappoint. It features 800 volt architecture and can add 100 miles of range in 10 minutes, thanks to its ability to accept up to 350 kW of power from a DC fast charger. (The current Ford F-150 Lighting is limited to 165 kW, but there is an all new truck is in the works which will undoubtedly accept higher charging power.) Four-wheel steering and air ride suspension will be available options.
At the present time, the most powerful RAM 1500 model is the 702 horsepower TRX. RAM Revolution chief designer Ralph Gilles tells The Verge, “Being electric, it’ll put a TRX to shame in acceleration.” He adds that RAM engineers and designers threw the kitchen sink at the Revolution concept and many of these features could be implausible for production duty. However some could be incorporated into future production vehicles. The company created the concept primarily to solicit feedback from potential customers. “This is an open letter to our fan base,” he said. “The feedback we’re going to get is going to inform a lot of things we choose to keep.”
In an interview with Gilles, Autoblog asked him how difficult it is to design an electric truck without alienating its traditional customers. “I love that question,” Gilles answered, “because I think the market is definitely parceling out in a way. You have the, let’s say, early adopters that want to tell the world what they’ve chosen to do. So for that, yeah, the futurism is there. In our case, we’ve been talking to our current owners, and a lot of them are looking with a lot of interest at this EV space. We are also our customers in a way. We’re very much truck owners and buyers and users.”
“And they’ve been saying, give me something futuristic. Show me that it is doing something different. But don’t do it for doing its sake, if you know what I mean. They don’t want a frivolous thing. They don’t want something that just tries so hard to look futuristic that it’s kind of lost in itself. So we’re really trying to make it still a truck that has a bold presence, zero sacrifice to functionality, great visibility, and great usage. In some cases, better usage, considering the ginormous frunk. I don’t want to say how many bodies you can put in it, but it’s quite substantial. So honestly, our customers say, make it, make it look cool, make it look tough.”
The Takeaway
Pickup trucks are hugely popular in the US. The vehicles that pass for trucks in other countries are about half the size of the typical American pickup truck. In terms of styling, the RAM Revolution actually goes a bit further than the F-150 Lightning and the Silverado EV, both of which strongly resemble their internal combustion powered cousins. Squint and you may see a hint of the Rivian R1T in the lines of the RAM Revolution.
Customers love choices. Soon they will have a choice of an electric pickup from Ford that is nearly indistinguishable from the conventional truck, another from GM that departs slightly from its conventional truck, and one from RAM that is quite a bit different in appearance. The RAM should be the more efficient choice, but branding is a powerful force in the pickup truck world. In a battle between efficiency and branding, who wins? Stay tuned.
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