The 1500 is the smallest Ram truck in the United States, but the Stellantis brand sells several downsized pickups in other markets. Based on the Fiat Strada, the 700 is a small ute only 176.1 inches (4,474 millimeters) long. Another forbidden fruit is the 1000 which is presented as a renamed Fiat Toro. It stands at 193.5 in (4,915 mm) in length, which still makes it substantially shorter than the 1500 available in the United States.
Get ready to meet the upcoming Ram 1200, known internally by the code name “Project 291”. This moniker is not entirely new as it was used between 2016 and 2019 in the United Arab Emirates for a rebadged version of the Fiat Fullback / Mitsubishi Triton. The new truck is also based on the Toro, but Ram is putting more effort into it than just sticking his badge on a Fiat truck and stopping it.
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Spotted resting during the late hours of the day with heavy camouflage making it look like a boxy SUV, this double-cab pickup is believed to drive a Small Wide 4×4 architecture. If that doesn’t ring a bell, Compass and Jeep Commander are using adaptations of the same platform. Expected to be longer than the Fiat Toro/Ram 1000 but shorter than the 1500, the new utilitarian vehicle will likely be assembled at the Jeep factory in Pernambuco, Brazil.
Our colleagues from Motor1.com Brasil on good authority that one of the engines the Ram will offer is a 2.2-liter turbodiesel that can offer around 200 horsepower and 441 Newton-meters (325 pound-feet) of torque. A four-cylinder petrol unit engineered to run on ethanol is rumored to be offered in Brazil, which is the world’s second largest producer of this fuel.
The heavy camouflage manages to hide the truck’s design. That said, we can see the circular LED headlights a la Jeep Renegade almost completely while the taillights appear to be temporary clusters borrowed from the Fiat Toro. The front grille with horizontal slats may be larger than it appears, and the side profile view shows a large ground clearance. The Ram 1200 is believed to be a 4×4 only affair, unlike the Toro which is also sold on a FWD setup while the smaller Strada/700 sends power exclusively to the front axle.
The official premiere is scheduled to take place in 2023. It will be interesting to see if Ram intends to bring the 1200 to the US to take on the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.