The camouflage continues to melt from test mules of the upcoming 2019 Ram 1500 like a snowball in the oven.
Shutterbugs captured the new Ram 1500 on public roads around Flint, showing off its production grille, tow mirrors, and tail lights. From these photos, it is easy to tell the truck is going to largely shed the mini-Freightliner look it patented in 1994. Your author weeps at this development.
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The grille on this particular trim is of the variety which spells out R A M in billboard-sized letters instead of the traditional ‘gunsight’ unit. Flanking the letters are a pair of nostrils that are much less flared than in the current iteration of the grille. Two chrome bars outline the nostrils which are shaped like very narrow rectangles.
One either side of this new trapezoidal grille are a pair of headlights with thin strips of amber LEDs sandwiching the main illuminators. We won’t know until the whole truck is revealed, of course, but at this point it sure seems like the new Ram 1500 headlights will be a lot less distinctive than they are in the current model.
Six-lug hubs now seem to be a guarantee, with just about every test mule we’ve seen sporting a six pack of lug nuts. The chrome rims on this model shown here are of the flared-end six-spoke variety. They are wrapped in decidedly non-aggressive rubber, similar to what one finds on today’s Big Horn and Laramie models.
The cab – especially the rear passenger compartment – looks suspiciously large, which either means the back seat of the 2019 Ram 1500 is set to gain a few extra inches of legroom or FCA’s camo supplier is doing a really good job of deploying visual chicanery to disguise the thing.
Around back, a new set of tail lights ape those found on expensive F-150s, with a square in the middle of the units likely for some sort of sensing system for driving or reversing aids. In a fit of signature Ram theatre, twin set of exhaust cannons poke out from under the bumper. The sliding rear window appears unchanged from previous years.
Other details of the Ram 1500 have been firmed up ahead of its debut next year, including several clues pointing to an industry-first split tail gate. Coil springs with optional air suspension are likely to continue, as is the RamBox storage system. A hybrid and turbocharged four-cylinder are possibilities, and a more powerful V8 and Raptor-fighter are also rumored.
Expect the 2019 Ram 1500 to appear at January’s Detroit Auto Show.