Eye-catching limited-production Ram truck will be the last special edition Sport model of 2017.
An all-new Ram 1500 is coming, but the truck maker still found the time to come up with one more special edition version of its light-duty workhorse before 2017 comes to an end: the 2018 Ram 1500 Hydro Blue Sport.
As the truck’s name implies, Hydro Blue is the dominant color. It covers the front end, body, side mirror caps, door handles, and back bumper. Black is used as an accent on the decaled Sport performance hood, billet grille inserts, and exterior badges. Designers also darkened the inserts for the projector headlights and the bezels for the LED tail lights.
No special edition truck would be complete without some cool wheels. Two-wheel-drive versions of the Hydro Blue Sport come standard with forged and polished 22-inch aluminum wheels while their 4X4 siblings are equipped with polished 20-inch wheels. Optional exterior hardware includes different wheel finishes, black tube steps, full-length chrome side steps, the Active Level air suspension, ParkSense, and the RamBox storage system.
Inside, the Hydro Blue Sport features color-matched blue stitching on the instrument panel, heated steering wheel, and doors. Blue Sport embroidery appears on the heated, mesh-accented seats, whose headrests are decorated with blue Ram’s head logos. A blue anodized finish is applied around the air vents, center stack, and console, as well as on the door panels. That all sits under a black headliner. Customers who want to dress up the cabin even more can opt for full leather seating and trim.
According to Ram, “The Hydro Blue pearl coat paint option is available on Ram 1500 Sport crew cab, short-bed body styles with the 5.7-
liter HEMI V-8. Both two- and four-wheel-drive models will be available.”
Sales of the 2018 Ram 1500 Hydro Blue Sport start this month, but they probably won’t last long. Ram is only making 2,000 Hydro Blue Sports for the U.S. market. Prices start at $46,060 (plus a $1,395 destination charge).
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.
