It’s tailgate time in America.

This is a great time to be a fan of pickup trucks. Power ratings are climbing faster than that Cliffhanger character on The Price Is Right, interior luxury is off the charts, and styling is getting more and more adventurous. Now, we can add tailgate innovation to that list.

Waaay back in 2017, we showed you images of a Ram testing mule tooling around Detroit with what appeared to be a barn-door ‘gate featuring a 60/40 vertical split. At the time, speculation abounded that the new Ram 1500 would be available with this unique feature.

The truck’s introduction came and went with no mention of such a unit … but Ram may have given us a clue about it in the form of a tweet they sent in response to shade being thrown by GMC about their MultiPro tailgate.

Alright, then. The date mentioned, February 7th, is the media preview day at this year’s Chicago Auto Show. Think Ram will have something tailgate-related to show off on that day? We do. Here are a few spy shots of a testing mule we ran back in 2017.

A split gate, at least one like the unit shown in this spy image, would introduce a prominent crease compared to the nearly invisible break on GMC’s MultiPro. It would also break up the R A M billboard letters that appear on many of their trims. Still, this is only a prototype and the finished product, should one exist, may look completely different.

The General has been building an entire ad campaign around poking fun at the tailgates of their competitors, taking special care to use Ram and Ford ‘gates as their main targets.

If healthy competition breeds a better and more innovative product for customers, we’re all for it.