Mopar tweaks extreme off-road Ram Runner kit to be street legal
By Steph, 17 Feb, 2011. 0 Comments
Ram Runner
Mopar President and CEO Pietro Gorlier said that its extreme off-road Ram Runner kit has been tweaked to be fully street legal when it enters production in March. At the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, Gorlier told PickupTrucks.com that the company was prompted to modify the kit to be street-legal because the reaction to the Ram Runner concept that debuted in Moab was so positive. He said that they wanted buyers to enjoy driving the truck whether on-road or off. Using components inspired by Baja trophy trucks, Ram Runner hardware will turn a half-ton Ram 1500 pickup truck into a hardened desert racer. To create the kit, Mopar partnered with veteran Baja racer Kent Kroeker.
It was fitted with custom body and suspension pieces such as 3-inch diameter Fox Racing internal bypass dampers at all four corners, custom upper and lower control arms for the front suspension and flared widetrack fenders. To make the kit street legal, one of the changes that Mopar made was to install side marker lamps, which the government requires because of the Ram Runner’s width. Ram Runners will be a lot wider than stock.
A standard Ram 1500 four-wheel-drive model has 68.2 inches at the front and 67.5 inches in back while the Track is 77.5 inches at the front and 74.5 at the rear. Because of the extra width, there’s more stability in corners and high-speed turns. Mopar spokesman Bryan Zvibleman said that a clearance-identification kit will be available. This kit complies with requirements for driving on the street with wider fenders. Off-road enthusiasts could either buy the hardware all at once from a Chrysler-Mopar dealer or in batches. [via PickupTrucks]
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