The 2004 Ram Rumble Bee Was The OG Quick, Flashy, Hemi-Powered Mopar Muscle Truck

There are some things on this nation that Individuals can not seem to put out to pasture. Regardless of how impractical. In addition to the oh-so-obvious political factors, stateside lovers can not seem to cleanly half with the idea of a muscle automobile. Regardless of the loss of life of the sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro and the departure of Dodge’s tire-melting V8-powered twins, the Challenger and the Charger, Ford retains defiantly rolling out muscle-bound Mustangs with an urge for food for premium gas at a time when war-related gasoline costs are straight-up prohibitive.

The identical might be mentioned for thirsty vans. It is 2026, and you’ll nonetheless get a Ram 1500 SRT TRX or Ford F-150 Raptor R with a supercharged V8 and practically single-digit gas economic system figures. Extra than simply the off-road supertrucks, Stellantis and Tim Kuniskis are again at it with the brand new Ram 1500 Rumble Bee: a loud (in each look and quantity), 777-horsepower muscle truck. However this is not the primary go-around for the Rumble Bee; it is a rebirth of one among Dodge’s OG mid-noughties greats. In case you missed it, the 2004 Ram Rumble Bee reduce a tire-roasted path for the brand new mannequin. And that truck wasn’t an entirely new idea both. It was a brightly-colored, Hemi-powered nod to the Tremendous Bee of yesteryear.

The third-generation Dodge Ram ran from 2002 till it was changed by the fourth-gen truck in 2009. Throughout that point, Dodge launched a couple of spicier variations of the comparably delicate Ram 1500. Now, for those who’re a Ram fanatic, or a Mopar maniac with vans on the mind, you may keep in mind the Dodge Ram SRT-10, a bonkers tremendous truck with a 10-cylinder viper’s nest(or Viper, moderately) below the hood. However there was a lesser-known, but nonetheless hilarious, road truck in Dodge’s arsenal: the Ram Rumble Bee.

Dodge produced the Ram Rumble Bee for the 2004 and 2005 mannequin years, one much less 12 months than the SRT-10. However the Rumble Bee’s declare to fame wasn’t a hiked-up trip peak for path domination; it was all about muscle automobile antics in a daily cab truck. To drag it off, the Ram Rumble Bee acquired the fuel-injected 5.7-liter Hemi V8 therapy. That mill was good for 345 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of torque when it was new, and it was paired with a five-speed computerized gearbox. In fact, although, it is the identical 345 horsepower you’d discover in different 5.7-powered Ram 1500s.

So, apart from the potent Hemi below the hood, what made it particular? Briefly, it was Dodge’s resident manufacturing facility road truck. To maintain with the throwback bee motif, the colour palette was Photo voltaic Yellow and black – both primarily black or primarily yellow. And to additional promote its fitness center rat standing, the 2004 and 2005 fashions have been accessible solely with common cabs and quick beds, that includes a muscle car-esque hood scoop, 20-inch wheels, and a few further physique cladding. Oh, and remember the exhaust pipe-toting “Velocity Bee” graphic adorning the rear quarters. This factor was unapologetic.

Dodge closed the guide on the Ram Rumble Bee after the 2005 mannequin 12 months. However, as we have realized from Brendan Fraser, Lindsay Lohan, and different 2000s favorites, anybody (or something) could make a comeback. The Hemi-powered Rumble Bee on the third-generation Ram 1500 platform set the stage for the brand new, however poorly timed, Hellcat-powered 2027 Ram 1500 Rumble Bee. 

Whereas the old-school Rumble Bee used a 5.7-liter engine, the brand new road truck will supply a selection of three V8 engines: a 5.7-liter Hemi, a 6.4-liter Hemi, and the supercharged 6.2-liter engine plucked from the varied Hellcats of yore (and the present TRX). The Ram 1500 Rumble Bee SRT leans much more closely into the hilarious, choosing a 777-horsepower model of the supercharged 6.2-liter V8. Ram says the Hellcat coronary heart within the new Rumble Bee is probably the most {powerful} engine ever put in in a manufacturing pickup truck, even when it is not the most-powerful model of the Hellcat engine. However, ya know, be happy to select up the 1,025-horsepower model through Dodge’s crate-engine program for those who really feel the necessity.

As an alternative of the common cab on the previous mannequin, the brand new Ram Rumble Bee will probably be solely a quad cab affair, so at the very least it’s going to be household pleasant. The brand new supercharged truck and the OG Rumble Bee mannequin are, in fact, not the one instances a Ram truck has invoked the striped insect’s identify. Again in 2013, Dodge unveiled a Ram 1500 Rumble Bee as a 10-year tribute to the older truck. The idea truck additionally packed a 5.7-liter V8 (this time producing 395 horsepower) and channeled a lot of the identical visible aptitude because the earlier mannequin. Nevertheless, that truck by no means reached manufacturing.