The 1500 is Ram's smallest truck in the United States but the Stellantis brand is selling a couple of downsized pickups in other markets. Based on the Fiat Strada, the 700 is a tiny ute measuring only 176.1 inches (4,474 millimeters) long. Another forbidden fruit is the 1000 serving as a rebadged Fiat Toro. It stretches at 193.5 in (4,915 mm) long, which still makes it significantly shorter than the 1500 available stateside.
Get ready to meet the upcoming Ram 1200, known internally by its "Project 291" codename. The moniker is not entirely new since it was used between 2016 and 2019 in the United Arab Emirates for a rebadged version of the Fiat Fullback / Mitsubishi Triton. This new truck is also based on the Toro, but Ram is putting more effort rather than just slapping its badge on the Fiat truck and calling it a day.
2024 Ram 1200 spy photos
Spied resting during the late hours of the day with heavy camo making it look like a boxy SUV, the double-cab pickup is believed to ride on the Small Wide 4×4 architecture. If that doesn't ring a bell, the Jeep Compass and Commander utilize an adaptation 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 Jeep's factory in Pernambuco, Brazil.
Our colleagues from Motor1.com Brazil have it on good authority that one of the engines Ram will offer is going to be a turbodiesel 2.2-liter that could offer around 200 horsepower and 441 Newton-meters (325 pound-feet) of torque. A gasoline four-cylinder unit engineered to run on ethanol is rumored to be offered as well in Brazil, which is the world’s second-largest producer of this fuel.
The thick disguise does a good job of hiding the truck’s design. That said, we can see the Renegade-esque circular LED headlights almost in full. This makes us wonder whether we're looking at an equivalent Jeep version, although the headlights could just be a temporary setup, much like the taillights that seem to be borrowed from the Fiat Toro. The front grille with horizontal slats is probably larger than it looks, and the side profile view reveals generous ground clearance. The Ram 1200 is believed to be a 4x4-only affair, unlike the Toro also sold with a FWD setup while the smaller Strada / 700 sends power exclusively to the front axle.
The official premiere is slated to take place later in 2023. It'll be interesting to see whether Ram intends to bring the 1200 to the US of A.
