GERMANS CREATE A CNG RAM 1500 THAT COULD SAVE THE V8 ENGINE IN EUROPE

Here in the United States we are no strangers to highly modified pickup trucks. Drive down any American highway and you’re apt to find anything from a brodozer to an overlander and everything in between. Well, we have a new custom Ram 1500 to tell you about courtesy of the folks at JB Car Design, but we are willing to bet that you won’t ever see one of these on the road. That’s because this Ram is a German market exclusive.

For those who are familiar with JB Car Design, you know that the company is most known for its work with exotic brands such as Porsche and Ferrari. The German tuning house is located in Alsdorf, near the country’s westerly border not far from Belgium. While this Ram 1500 might not carry that same amount of cache as some of the other vehicles that come out of JB Car Design’s workshop, it will be limited to a run of only 28 units.

And what a special 28 units those will be. JB Car Design has designed this product with off-roading center of mind, which is made evident by the extensive amount of modification on order here. Perhaps the most extreme modification was made to the potent Hemi V8 engine that resides under the truck’s hood, which has been converted to run on compressed natural gas, or CNG, which is mostly methane. The company says the engine develops 428 hp, a bit more than the standard 395 hp, all while being much more compliant with the EU’s stringent emissions laws. Moreover, the CNG swap makes the V8-powered pickup truck relatively cost effective to own in Germany, as the resource is far cheaper than gasoline over there.

Maybe this type of thinking could pave the way for other CNG conversions in V8-powered cars and trucks in Europe. One can only hope. To compare, a gallon of gasoline averages over $5.50 USD per gallon in Germany, while CNG costs roughly $1.16 per kilogram. Plus, JB Car Design says this Ram 1500 achieves reductions of about 50% in hydrocarbon emissions, 85% in nitrogen oxide, and 95% in soot emission. So the fact that this truck only manages around 16 miles per gallon doesn’t seem to be an issue. And then there’s the driving range, which JB says is more than 2,000 km – about 1,250 miles – thanks to a pair of massive tanks with a total combined capacity of 352 liters, or about 93 gallons.

As for off-roading equipment, JB Car Design has fitted this Ram 1500 with a three-inch body lift, a set of 22-inch wheels wrapped in 33-inch off-road tires, fender flares, underbody skid plates, as well as custom bumpers front and rear that feature tow hooks and extra lighting. The new front bumper also features a remote operated winch should things go wrong when the road ends, and there is even a self-leveling air suspension system out back for towing heavy loads.

Visually the truck is marked by its all new custom hood, as well as the large steel cage that has been added to the bed. The truck is painted in a textured finish that is called Stone Crush, which the company says is available in a number of different color options. LED lights pepper the entirety of the off-roader, with light pods being placed both on the roof as well as inside the grille itself. Whether or not having a orange backlit grille is cool or not has yet to be seen in practice.

What we do know however is the price tag of this highly-modified German Ram 1500. In the vehicles press release the company noted that it’ll take a cool $134,725 to take one of the 28 trucks off of their hands. That’s certainly a lot of money for a pickup, but fear not bargain-seekers: JB Auto Design does have a few slightly-used trucks that they would be happy to sell you for the low price of $89,245.