Ram 1500 4×4 spied once again wearing Tungsten trim

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It’s an open secret the Detroit Three truck-makers enjoy bonking each other over the head in a never-ending game of one-upmanship. That competitive spirit extends from powertrains and towing figures; to tossing out the most luxurious offerings. Re: that latter example, alert readers will recall the Tungsten name as a top-shelf trim of the Ram 1500 — and it seems the brand is readying it for a reprise.

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Caught by our spies in Detroit, this test mule has but a skiff of camouflage on its nose and rump, suggesting the Tungsten may have unique lighting signatures compared to its proletarian brothers. Dual exhaust cutouts are easy to spy, as is the RamBox.

Heavy coverings are also draped over the tailgate, scuppering any clues as to what Ram may have up its sleeve for that area, if anything. After all, the barn door split gate is already unique to the market. Up front, a gap in the camo suggests the presence of a forward-facing camera. There’s no glimpse of the interior, but expect a suede headliner, buttery soft leather, the lot.

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Those chrome-capped towing mirrors with integrated turn signals are new, and seem to be fixed in the vertical position unlike the present elephant ears. (Those mirrors can be rotated to suit the driver’s preference which, given anecdotal experience, is generally positioned out as far as possible even when no trailer is attached, as if it is a show of dominance over other truck drivers — like a peacock and its feathers, even though it needlessly crowds other road users. Can you tell this author has a beef? And I used to own one of these things.)

Also, peep that bit of camo on the hood’s power dome, a location which generally advertises what engine is at work between the front wheels. There’s every chance in the world this trim will see the debut of a twin-turbo inline-six powerplant, dubbed the “Hurricane” and currently found in variants of the Wagoneer family.

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Losing access to Hemi power will cause Ram traditionalists to weep into their axle grease, but the reality is the Hurricane’s an engine that can belt out 510 horsepower and roughly a like amount of torque. Those figures clean the 5.7L Hemi’s clock, a mill which hasn’t seen meaningful power increases since Jesus was a cowboy.

This author is also going to take a moment and opine that “Hurricane” is an appropriately aggro name for an engine in the Ram family, by the way. Why powers-that-be chose to saddle the Hemi with “eTorque” is beyond my comprehension, since it, in your writer’s decidedly unofficial polls of his truck buddies, doesn’t resonate at all, and is in fact routinely derided by the truck’s customer base. The company’d have been far better off calling it RAID – Ram Anti-Ignition Device – or something. Anyway—

It is not unreasonable to expect the Ram 1500 Tungsten to show up early next year.