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2021 Ram 1500 TRX: Ford F-150 Raptor rival a chance for Australia

The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX has been teased in a video released in the US overnight – and the V8-powered rival to the Ford F-150 Raptor could be sold in Australia.


Overseas reports claim it will be powered by a supercharged V8, however this is yet to be confirmed.

 

Drive

The boss of Ram Trucks Australia, Neville Crichton, says he is exploring the possibility of adding the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX to the local line-up.

“We’re interested in every new model from Ram,” said Mr Crichton. “We are looking to expand our Ram business in Australia. Any vehicle that we can convert here, we will look at.”

US Ram pick-ups – which are remanufactured from left-hand-drive to right-hand-drive under the same roof as the Chevrolet Silverado by the Walkinshaw Automotive Group in Melbourne – is about to post one of its best sales months on record in Australia.

Indeed, the local assembly line for the Ram 1500 has been running 24 hours a day, five days a week for the past 12 months.

Ram Trucks Australia sold almost 3000 vehicles last year, and sales so far this year are up by 31 per cent in a market that is down by 24 per cent.

“We are very pleased with the Ram Truck business,” said Mr Crichton, who added that Australians have a strong appetite for full-size US pick-ups.

Although it is yet to be confirmed, Ram Trucks Australia is expected to introduce the new-generation Ram 1500 early next year and continue to sell the current “Classic” model alongside it for the next two to three years. The new model is expected to be more expensive.

The “Classic” Ram 1500 has proven so popular in the US – and Australia – the company will continue to manufacture it alongside the new model for the foreseeable future.

 

Drive

The Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 are the only two US pick-ups sold in Australia with factory backing and which have been crashed tested to meet full volume compliance.

Unlike other locally converted pick-ups, the vehicles that roll off the Walkinshaw Automotive Group assembly line in Melbourne are equipped with steering systems manufactured by the original supplier for right-hand-drive; the dashboards are made by the same company that used to supply interior components for the Toyota Camry.

Some smaller outfits that convert US pick-ups locally make their dashboards out of fibreglass, adapt existing steering systems or borrow them from different vehicles, and come with a third-party warranty rather than factory-backed coverage.

Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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