Ram 1500 Rumble Bee Concept
August 17, 2013 , Woodward Dream Cruise, Mich. - Ten years ago, the Ram Truck Brand introduced the Rumble Bee, a popular model inspired by the Super Bee muscle car of the late ‘60s. Today, Ram unveiled a new HEMI-powered Ram 1500 Rumble Bee concept to celebrate the 10-year anniversary and the heritage of Ram’s unique truck designs that include the Lil Red Express, Warlock and Power Wagon.
“The Ram 1500 Rumble Bee continues to have a strong fan base and what better place to celebrate its 10-year anniversary than Woodward Dream Cruise,” said Reid Bigland, President and CEO – Ram Truck Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. “There’s a lot of energy surrounding concept trucks and buzz models, and the Ram Design Team revels in creating something that is unique for our customers to enjoy.”
The Rumble Bee concept began life as a 2013 Ram 1500 R/T. Keeping with tradition, the lightweight, two-door; 2WD configuration is covered in “Drone Yellow” paint with a unique matte finish. The rare color/finish flows over the entire truck including the bumpers, flares and the Mopar ground effects kit. True to form, a new “Speed Bee” design is swathed on both sides of the truck within a gloss black stripe that fades into honeycomb. The stripe glides front to rear, around the top of the bed and over the Mopar tonneau cover to memorialize HEMI-powered vehicles of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which dominated the racing scene. Factory 22-inch wheels are replaced with gloss black, 24-inch, Vellano VRH custom rollers and a 2-inch drop provided by King Suspension enhances handing performance and appearance with the help of a reservoir shock at each wheel. The grille, hood vents, badging, fuel door and the dual exhaust tailpipes are coated in gloss black, carrying the theme on all sides.
The colors and graphics spread through the Ram R/T-based interior, featuring black and Drone Yellow leather sport mesh seats with two-tone yellow/light-grey stitching. “Rumble Bee” lettering and Ram logos adorn chairs, floor mats and door bolsters. The interior center-piece is an actual amber-encased bee mounted into the 8-speed rotary shifter knob that lights up to expose a honeycomb pattern background. Two buttons below the knob control exhaust cutouts to bypass the Mopar cat-back dual-exhaust system, allowing the full sound force of a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 to escape — loud and LOUDER! The unique honeycomb pattern is shared with door trim and the dash, where a milled aluminum “10th Anniversary” commemorative badge serves as the truck’s ID.
Under hood, the Ram 1500 Rumble Bee concept houses a 5.7-liter HEMI with 395 horsepower and 407 lb.-ft. of torque, mated to a TorqueFlite 8-speed automatic transmission. The HEMI is fitted with a custom gloss yellow and black engine cover with honeycomb graphic pattern. Mopar’s cold-air intake system gives the HEMI a bump in performance and relentless torque is transferred through a 4.10 gear set for quick jumps off the line.
About Ram Truck Brand
The Ram Truck brand continues to establish its own identity and clearly define its customer since its launch as a standalone vehicle brand. Creating a distinct brand for Ram trucks has allowed the brand to concentrate on how core customers use their trucks and what new features they'd like to see. Whether focusing on a family that uses its half-ton truck day in and day out, a hard-working Ram Heavy Duty owner or a business that depends on its commercial vehicles every day, Ram has the truck market covered.
The Ram Truck brand has the most innovative lineup of full-size trucks on the market. Ram Truck has emerged as a full-size truck leader by investing substantially in new products, infusing them with great looks, refined interiors, durable engines and features that further enhance their capabilities. Truck customers, from half-ton to commercial, have a demanding range of needs and require their vehicles to provide high levels of capability. Ram trucks are designed to deliver a total package.
