This bizarre-looking pickup truck may seem like something that an enthusiast built in a shed but it is actually an early prototype for the upcoming Ram 1200 pickup truck. The Ram 1200, currently codenamed Project 291, is believed to spawn a similarly-sized rival to the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger and be sold exclusively in select Latin American markets. Very few details are known at this point, but it appears that the truck pictured here is unrelated to the Dakota that RAM is planning for the North American market as a competitor to the likes of the Toyota Tacoma.
These spy shots snapped by CarScoops
reader Dániel Balogh in Budapest, Hungary, near a technical engineering office,
show that Ram is going to extreme lengths to try and keep the identity of this
prototype under wraps. The vehicle shares no resemblance to any current Ram
model and is clad in temporary body panels finished in black and stuck together
with tape. Perhaps the only piece of information we can gather from these
images is the fact that the 1200 is being developed as a four-door dual-cab.
Brazilian news outlet Autos Segredos
asserts that the Ram 1200 will share some parts from the Jeep Commander,
including its front doors and brakes. The front and rear suspension components
are also thought to be identical to those of the Fiat Toro pickup produced in
Brazil but this could be false since the Italian model is a much smaller truck.
Limited details are known about what could
power the pickup but at least one report indicates that a four-cylinder
turbodiesel from an existing Stellantis model is likely.