Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis believes he's figured out how to turn the street truck from a one-hit wonder into a new standard for muscle performance. It is called the Ram 1500 Rumble Bee, and instead of coming in just one extreme variant with an SRT badge and an equally extreme price tag, the automaker will launch an entire range of muscle trucks.
At the top will be the Rumble Bee SRT. It packs the same engine as the TRX—the 777-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat Hemi V8, which makes 680 pound-feet of torque. Ram says the truck can complete a quarter-mile run in 11.6 seconds at 116 miles per hour after ripping from zero to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds.
According to Kuniskis, the Rumble Bee SRT has already broken the 154.587-mph record set by the Dodge Ram SRT10 20 years ago—and still stands, for now. That truck had the 8.3-liter V10 engine from the Viper that produced 500 hp and 525 lb-ft of torque.
View Price on AmazonThe Rumble Bee should be better in every way. For one, there will be three other variants available alongside the SRT: the standard Rumble Bee, the Rumble Bee 392, and the Rumble Bee 392 Track Pack. The other is the unique cab-and-bed configuration, pairing the smaller Quad Cab with the short bed.
The entry-level model is the Rumble Bee, which features the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine Ram is now calling the "Eagle." It produces 395 hp and 410 lb-ft and, according to Ram’s boss, has just one battery. The 5.7-liter will not feature Ram’s eTorque mild-hybrid system or stop-start technology, nor will the 6.4-liter, which is available in the 1500 for the first time.
Sitting between the Rumble Bee and the SRT is the 392. The 6.4-liter "Apache" makes 470 hp and 455 lb-ft of torque, using the same eight-speed 8HP75 automatic transmission as the standard Bee. The SRT uses the more robust 8HP95 gearbox.
Every Rumble Bee features a Borg-Warner 48-11 transfer case that comes with a front-axle disconnect. Drivers can simply press a button on the dashboard to send all the power to the rear wheels. Ram will offer an optional asymmetrical limited-slip differential later for improved handling, which gets a major dose of fun with the 392 Track Pack.
The Track Pack adds something called E-Spool that’s designed for drag race starts and burnouts. It electronically locks the rear axle and even splits the torque between both tires. Despite all the performance goodies, the truck can tow up to 8,890 pounds and has a 1,160-lb payload capacity.
Source: motor1.com
