The most powerful, off-road capable Ram 1500 is coming to Australia.
Revealed this morning, the Ram 1500 TRX will be imported from the USA and converted to right-hand drive by Queensland-based company SCD American Vehicles.
SCD already has almost 20 expressions of interest for the TRX, which it aims to have on Australian roads “before Christmas this year”.
MORE: Get the lowdown on the new Ram 1500 TRX
It won’t be cheap, though. Pricing is expected to kick off at $170,000 before on-road costs.
That buys you a 6.2-litre supercharged V8 engine with 520kW of power and 881Nm of torque, along with a sophisticated off-road suspension system and all-wheel drive setup.
Thanks to its bent-eight heart, the TRX will sprint to 97km/h (60mph) in just 4.5 seconds, and push on to 160km/h in just 10.5 seconds from standstill.
The quarter-mile is dispatched in 12.9 seconds, and flat out you’ll be doing just under 200km/h.
It doesn’t have the same footprint as Ram Australia – which is run by importer Ateco and sells vehicles converted to right-hand drive by Walkinshaw in Victoria – but SCD is ahead of Ateco by already offering the latest Ram 1500 in right-hand drive.
The DT Ram 1500 was revealed at the 2018 Detroit motor show, and is currently sold alongside the older DS 1500 we currently get in Australia as a high-tech rival to the latest Chevrolet Silverado and Ford F-150.
Ram Australia has previously said it plans to have the DT in Australia late in 2020, plans CarExpert understands are still on track.
Ram Australia couldn’t confirm if it will be bringing the Ram 1500 TRX, but issued the following statement:
“RAM Trucks Australia is the world’s only factory-authorised, full-volume manufacturer, importer and distributor of right-hand drive RAM trucks. We have a strong relationship with RAM Trucks International and work closely with our colleagues in the US on future model mix.
“To that end, we are well into the process on multiple RAM products for Australia, and look forward to sharing more information in due course.”
Would you take the Ram 1500 TRX over a Ford F-150 Raptor?
