In a similar fashion to the light-duty 1500, the heavy-duty series of Ram trucks will be updated for the 2025 model year. The carparazzi have recently spotted a Michigan-plated 2500 Rebel doing its thing on Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac all-terrain rubber, with said prototype flaunting only a little camo.
The rear lights, the rear bumper's sides, and the front end are camouflaged, but everyone and their dog what's going on under there. For starters, the 2025 Ram HD appears to be getting 1500-inspired headlights and slightly revised front bumpers. The 2500 Rebel should obviously boast a front bumper à la the 1500 Rebel, which comes exclusively with the standard-output Hurricane inline-six engine.
There's a new grille in store as well, incorporating a large sensor in the area where said grille meets the front bumper. Pictured in a superb paint color that Ram calls Hydro Blue, this fellow sports a hood that's more Ram 1500 RHO than Ram 1500 Rebel. Fitted with marker lights at the front of the roof, the heavy-duty truck certainly features new taillights due to the camouflage masking said taillights.
Don't look forward to any big changes, though. One could argue for small changes to the interior as well. In the half-ton 1500, the Stellantis-owned truck brand went for either 12- or 14.5-inch touchscreen displays for the Uconnect 5 infotainment system. The 1500 can be specified with a front passenger display, whereas the digital gauge cluster offers almost two dozen menus.
This prototype's cockpit is obviously camouflage, but given the aforementioned, the updates mentioned just earlier are believed to carry over to the heavy-duty line of Rams. The biggest question of them all, however, is whether the 6.4-liter HEMI free-breathing V8 will survive past MY2024.
Photo: Baldauf
Stellantis doesn't make any comments on future products, but insider sources claim that Stellantis will keep the big ol' V8 alive by means of minor updates to meet emission regulations. The 392-cube HEMI is referred to as BGE in truck applications or as the Apache in cars and sport utility vehicles.
It pumps out a stout 410 horsepower and 429 pound-feet (582 Nm) in the 2024 Ram HD, whereas the 2023 model year Charger and Challenger with the 392 are good for 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet (644 Nm) at full chatter. The only transmission available is an eight-speed unit designed by ZF.
Stepping up to the Cummins, which is a 6.7-liter turbo diesel inline-six lump, gets you either 370 or 400 horsepower. The party trick of the Cummins-designed engine is peak torque, with the standard- and high-output versions of said engine developing 850 and 1,075 pound-feet (1,152 and 1,458 Nm).
Expected to be revealed sometime this coming summer, the 2025 Ram HD will be produced at Saltillo Truck Assembly Plant. It currently employs nearly 300 salaried and 3,800 hourly workers, who are working in three shifts to make the Ram 1500 Classic, 2500 through 5500 heavy-duty trucks, and the DX Chassis Cab for the Mexican market.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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