I knew Ram would bring something to show off at the 2016 State Fair of Texas. I had no idea it would be this.
Ram actually brought two vehicles to show off. They were both sitting under silky black cloaks. The Dallas winds threatened to whip them off, forcing Ram Trucks boss Jim Morrison to step on them to keep them in place during his buildup to the big reveals. It was as if Mother Nature couldn’t wait to get a peek at the trucks under those blousy covers.
After a few minutes, she did. So did my fellow journalists and I. Wow.
One of the displays was the 1500 Lone Star Silver Edition. It was an attractive rig that my fellow Texans are sure to snap up, but it became invisible once we all got an eyeful of the Ram Rebel TRX Concept.
What I saw was what 10-year-old boys doodle in their notebooks. It was massive, hyperbolic, exaggerated, unnecessary, ridiculous, extreme…
…and a hit. Everyone swarmed around and pawed at it. I was one of them, glad a passion project this outlandish exists. Ram’s engineers created a truck that’s half a foot wider than a regular Ram 1500, held up by beyond-heavy-duty axles and monstrous 37-inch tires that grip Mopar beadlock wheels, and powered by what’s essentially a Hellcat HEMI – a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 with 575 horsepower – that breathes through Viper-esque side pipes. That hardware, combined with 13+ inches of wheel travel, high-performance bypass shocks, and a 4×4 Performance Control System with a Baja setting allows the Rebel TRX Concept to fly through the desert at more than 100 mph.
I can see something like this flying off of dealership lots, too – IF Ram makes a production version of it. It should. The Rebel TRX Concept is the definition of a big boy’s toy, a Hot Wheels at 1:1 scale. It screams…actually, it roars “Raptor Fighter” and, concept-only status aside, it makes the 2017 version of Ford’s ultimate off-road pickup look subtle. That’s not easy. Getting people to throw their money at this would be. Would you be one of them?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
