According to reports, fashion fads occur in a cycle of 20 years. If such a thing is the case, then we are approaching the period where things may swing back again in favor of sports trucks like the GMC Syclone, the Ford F-150 Lightning, and the Dodge Ram SRT-10, all of which became popular in car magazines in the early 1990s and 2000s. With that in mind, Ram believes it is the right time for them to launch their own version, the 2027 Ram 1500 Rumble Bee, which comes in three varieties – the supercharged Hellcat V-8, the 392 V-8, and the standard Hemi V-8.
The V-8 engines will likely be the main draw for many Rumble Bees, but Ram has definitely thrown its hat in the ring when it comes to sport truck philosophy by really stepping up efforts to improve cornering and braking over the usual run-of-the-mill pickup truck. Every Rumble Bee model comes with Ram’s four-door Quad cab body style paired with the 5 feet 7-inch short bed. This takes 13 inches off the wheelbase of Ram’s Crew cab model, with the same-length bed, reducing overall weight and providing increased rigidity and handling. Rumble Bees have a ride height that is one inch lower than Ram’s two-wheel-drive Ram 1500, with the same bloated fenders as the RHO and TRX models, measuring out at an imposing 88 inches wide.
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While there’s an entire family of Ram trucks to choose from, the queen of the bunch is certainly the Rumble Bee SRT, thanks to its supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine. Like the future TRX, it’s powered by the Hellcat engine that produces 777 horsepower and 680 pound-feet of torque, enough power to rocket from 0-60 mph in just 3.4 seconds and do a 11.6-second quarter mile. However, what’s truly insane is their target of 170 mph, making this truck faster than any production pickup before.
Rumble Bees use an eight-speed automatic transmission system along with a full-time four-wheel drive system. However, rest assured that they are capable of spinning the rear wheels as well. This car model differs from its predecessor, TRX, as they now have a rear-wheel drive feature to smoke their tires. The SRT variants come equipped with what is called by Ram as the electronic spool differential, where both rear wheels are locked together in order to produce better drag racing launch and burnout performance.
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Another unique selling point of the SRT variant is the Track mode setting that includes recalibrations including the draining of the air springs, lowering the truck further and lowering the center of gravity by another 1.5 inches. The company claims the SRT will corner with up to 0.89 g of grip; it’s an amazing accomplishment when considering that the wheels – 22 x 12 inches each – wear all-season tires. To put the accomplishment into perspective, Rivian’s 1,050 hp Rivian R1T Quad managed just 0.91 g with staggered Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 summer tires.
The Goodyear Eagle Sport A/S tires that sit under the SRT are big and thick – 325/40R22, to be exact. The tires are the second widest ever offered by Dodge after the Viper model. In case the claim of achieving 0.89 g on all-season tires turns out to be correct on the test track, that would indeed be a notable feat for a three-ton truck. Despite not receiving any specific explanation for why the company didn’t create a summer tire for the model yet, engineer Martin Jagoda stated that his team could easily do that.
SRT aero features comprise a lip spoiler mounted within the rear bumper, a front splitter extending 4.5 inches from the chin, and smaller mirrors which have been installed in all Rumble Bees. At times when you need to reduce the mass and speed of the SRT, it relies on brake pads squeezed by six-piston Brembo brakes onto disc brake rotors measuring 16.1-inches in diameter.
To complement the SRT’s orange-colored engine block, the stripes and stitching present in its Rumble Bee badges, and throughout the interior are orange. In addition to the high-quality parts, the SRT comes packed with luxurious features to make the owner’s ride more comfortable, including a 19-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, Ram’s biggest-ever 14.5-inch infotainment display, carbon fiber accents, and alloy pedal covers.
One step below in terms of cost, capability, and menacing attitude comes the Ram 1500 Rumble Bee 392. Here, for the first time, we see Ram use the non-turbocharged 6.4-liter V-8 engine in the Ram 1500. Producing 470 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque, it offers up 5.2-second 0-60 runs and a 13.2-second quarter mile. It’s worth noting that while Ram’s dual-turboinline six-cylinder engine producing 550 horsepower would definitely post better numbers than the V-8 (which Ram has decided to call Apache), fewer buyers would likely be purchasing them.
As for the 392’s suspension, it features steel coil springs, 22 by 10 inch wide rims, and 285/45R22 all-season tires, combined with an open differential. On top of all of that, there will be a special track pack, unique to the 392, featuring a lot of SRT’s goodies, such as air springs, steamroller rims and tires, the electronic spool differential, bigger brakes from Brembo, all aerodynamics packages from front to back, as well as a Track drive mode, and a dedicated launch control button. Lastly, the 20 x 10 inch wheels with 305/50R20 tires should hit the market at some point post-launch.
According to the press release, the entry Rumble Bee will do the 0-60mph run in 6.1 seconds and blast down the quarter-mile stretch in 14.6 seconds under the power of Ram’s good ol’ reliable 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, good for 395 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque. What’s interesting here, however, is the removal of the eTorque 48-volt mild-hybrid system from the entry variant, which is now branded Eagle in a star-and-bar-themed rebranding. The base variant, of course, won’t have the special components featured in the Track Pack and SRT variants, but it does get the benefit of the platform’s stance and style.
Hemi-powered Rumble Bees are, in essence, no-frills trucks featuring manually adjustable cloth seats and an 8.4-inch infotainment system, which, according to the press release, “replaces the standard 8-track players of the past.” Stay tuned to see if it manages to beat a Discman tape player mounted to the dash after we test-drive one. Apart from different colors, the entry Rumble Bee will initially be available only with an optional Bed Utility package, which includes bed lights, a bed step, bed liner, and adjustable upper tie-downs.
