Ram's Ford Ranger rival? Smaller sibling to 1500 teased as reveal of new mid-size 'Rampage' ute approaches

An American rival to the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger could be revealed as early as July, with Stellantis-owned Ram teasing a combustion-powered ute that could be related to the anticipated Dakota pick-up.

Under development by Ram’s Brazilian arm, and thus also being teased in videos presented in Portuguese by Ram Brazil, the pick-up is expected to be a little smaller than a Ford Ranger, and has already been confirmed to be built for other markets.

In a previous report, we mentioned local suggestions that the new truck will be called the Rampage, and while Ram hasn’t officially let the name slip yet, it has confirmed the model will be fitted with a four-cylinder turbocharged engine, meaning it might be a combustion engine sibling to the already-leaked Ram Dakota - shown to dealers as an electric concept.

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“The first Ram developed and produced in South America already makes a splash with its unprecedented ‘Hurricane 4’ turbo engine,” the video’s description reads in Portuguese. It's possible the engine will be a tweaked version of the four-cylinder engine used in the Jeep Compass, and Ram is calling it a 'debut' as it'll be the first time it's used in a Ram model.

Since the model’s development is happening in Brazil, local media (such as Autos Segredos) has been reporting leaked and anticipated details, including previous rumours of both diesel and petrol versions of its engine, and an official debut set for July.

While we can guess what Australia is likely to get from the new EV and ICE pairing of mid-sized utes, the brand’s global CEO has already confirmed to CarsGuide at least one of them will come to Australia.

"I don't want to limit my opportunities,” CEO Mike Koval said. “I would be doing the team a disservice if I didn't [offer ICE]. I want to be able to sell it in every market around the world."

Ram's Dakota could be the EV version of the ute teased in Brazil. (Image: Thanos Pappas)

While the brand is working on electrifying its models - even its full-sized 1500 is set to have an electric replacement - there are still markets where combustion is king, South America and Australia being two of them.

It makes sense then that if Ram sees Australia as an important market for sales, it’ll offer the ICE version of its mid-size ute here to fight the Ranger and HiLux, complimenting the sales of its already successful 1500.

Koval has also already confirmed to CarsGuide “it was always the idea” that the mid-size truck would be built in both left- and right-hand drive from the factory.

“When I got to the brand in 2016, I would say 96 percent of the engineering focus was on North America. That’s changing. Every new vehicle, starting with the [electric Ram 1500], and everything beyond it, I will make it international in scope. Or I’ll try to.”