- The Ram 1500 Revolution is a concept truck that previews a production truck expected next year
- It has innovative storage solutions like a folding midgate and a pass-through that lets you carry items almost as long as the truck
- You can walk it like a dog. We’ll explain
- Ram hasn’t revealed pricing or power details
Ram this week became the last of the major American truckmakers to show off an electric pickup. But it made up for its late arrival with some innovative features that could make the Ram 1500 Revolution an intriguing option for shoppers when it reaches production.
The truck Ram showed off at the CES consumer electronics show is officially a concept vehicle – not a production truck, but a design study meant to show what one might look like.
The company says, “Ram will once again redefine the pickup truck segment with its revolutionary Ram 1500 BEV production model in 2024.” But that production model may not be exactly like this.
Price a Mystery For Now
Ram gave no hint as to pricing. When Ford released its F-150 Lightning electric pickup, it set the introductory price just below $40,000. But it has since risen to $55,974. Chevrolet has said it plans a sub-$40,000 price tag for its upcoming Silverado EV. But we expect Ford’s increase to mean that neither Chevy nor Ram will actually make the under-$40K price point work.
Stylish, Two-Tone Look
Teaser drawings had suggested a particularly sporty-looking truck, but what Ram showed off this week brings a lot of function to that style.
Up front, the R-A-M logo is illuminated and surrounded by what Ram calls “tuning fork” headlights. Designers didn’t bother with a false grille (electric vehicles don’t need the airflow), giving the nose a pointed look that belies its height. The hood has a sculpted power bulge as if hiding an engine, but you know better.
A two-tone paint job lends it a tailored look. Flush door handles – an electric car staple these days – make the profile sleek. It uses thin rearview camera mounts in place of mirrors, but that will change for the production model – numerous auto safety laws still require actual mirrors.
Ram says the big fenders can accommodate tires up to 35 inches, though the display model runs on 24s.
No Gauge Cluster, No Headliner, and Sometimes No Steering Wheel
The cabin mirrors the front end’s light signature, with ambient lighting in a long tuning fork style running the width of the dash. The infotainment system uses a stacked pair of big 14.2-inch screens, with the lower retracting beneath the upper when it isn’t needed.
When in reverse, Ram says, the screens show a 360-degree view around the truck.
There’s no information screen or cluster of gauges in front of the driver – Ram says a head-up display makes it unnecessary. An oblong octagonal steering wheel gives the driver a few thumb buttons to control it.
And Ram says drivers won’t always need it. It retracts during hands-free, autonomous driving. That’s almost certainly a concept car feature that won’t make it to production by 2024.
Coach-style, pillarless doors open to reveal seating for four. Ram, knowing it’s marketing a pickup, calls them “saloon style” doors.
Rear-seat passengers get the same adjustable seats as front-row riders. It’s all lined in vegetarian leather made from apple byproducts over a floor made of recycled rubber and cork.
A huge glass roof lets you adjust its tint from clear to opaque – there’s no headliner at all. Likewise, it lacks sun visors. You can tint the top of the windshield to block the sun’s glare.
Movie Night for Six
Oh, and there’s an exterior projector, Ram says, “allowing the owner to have movie night anytime, anywhere.”
The interior’s real attention-grabbing feature, though, is seating for six. The cab is already big – 4 inches longer than the longest cab on any Ram truck today. But if you slide the second-row seats forward, there are folding jump seats hidden behind them. We wouldn’t want to ride back there for long, but you can carry six in a pinch. In this pickup truck.
Cargo Options: Midgate, Pass-Through for 18-Foot Items
The rear bulkhead they’re attached to is a midgate. A what? As the tailgate is to the tail, the midgate is to the middle of the truck. It folds down at the touch of a button, letting you load longer cargo into the bed.
For really long cargo, there’s a pass-through slot that lets you load long items all the way into the front trunk. That lets the Revolution carry items up to 18 feet long, provided they’re narrow enough to pass between the seats.
A related phone app helps owners plan how to load the bed. It can measure items with the phone’s camera and show users how best to position them to fit them into the bed.
Horsepower, Range Under Wraps for Now
Ram CEO Mike Koval has promised that the Revolution will separate itself from the rest of the growing electric pickup field with greater traditional trunk functionality. We’ll have to wait to find out if they pulled it off.
Ram has offered no details on what powers the Revolution, nor its range. The company says it “can add up to 100 miles of range in approximately 10 minutes with 800-volt DC fast charging at up to 350 kW.” But without knowing what number they’re adding that 100 miles to, we have trouble making much of that.
The truck does have 15 degrees of 4-wheel-steering – more articulation than most 4-wheel-steering systems allow. Ram says it’s “powered by two electric modules,” giving it all-wheel-drive capability.
An adjustable air suspension offers three modes: ingress/egress, aero, and off-road.
You Can Walk It Like a Dog
And, perhaps our favorite gimmick, you can set the truck to follow you as you walk. Ram calls this “shadow mode.” The truck will use its sensors and autonomous capability to follow you down a trail or around a worksite, like leading a horse.
Ram also brought what it calls “an inductive robot charger” to CES. It detects the vehicle’s arrival, automatically moves into position underneath, and docks to start charging. Owners can set it to charge only during off-peak hours to save money.
We Need Price and Power Numbers to Start Evaluating This
The Revolution is a gorgeous concept and has some truly clever ideas. We’re pretty sure Ford and Chevy designers are mad they didn’t think of the pass-through. And this is a 6-seater only in limited conditions – you wouldn’t want to ask people you like to ride in a jump seat for long. But it is a genuine 3-row, 6-seat pickup, which is a phrase we never expected to write.
But without price and performance details, it’s hard to evaluate whether the truck will make sense for many drivers. We’ll bring those details as soon as we have them.
