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SEMA week always gives us plenty to talk about, and this year was no exception.
In this article▾ Jeep® Finally Shows Us The Wrangler Scrambler SRT This V10 Dodge Ram Is One Most Americans Never Got Dodge’s NASCAR Comeback Is Finally Real Chip Foose Gives The Rumble Bee The Street-Truck Treatment Sub-Zero Comes To The 2027 Dodge Durango SEMA Gave Mopar Fans Plenty To Talk About
Jeep® pulled the covers off something we’ve been waiting to see for months with the Wrangler Scrambler SRT Concept, giving us our best look yet at where the upcoming Scrambler could be heading. Then there was a completely different kind of V10-powered Mopar — a rare Mexican-market Dodge Ram Runner that most enthusiasts here in the United States probably never knew existed.
Dodge’s confirmed return to the NASCAR Cup Series also continued generating plenty of attention as more pieces of the 2027 program started coming together.
Ram had one of the wildest trucks at SEMA thanks to Chip Foose and Fox Factory Vehicles, while Dodge continued adding more personality to the Durango with another Charger color making the jump to its three-row SUV.
If you missed anything, here are five MoparInsiders stories worth catching up on this week.
Jeep® Wrangler Scrambler SRT Concept. (Jeep). Jeep® Finally Shows Us The Wrangler Scrambler SRT
We’ve known Jeep has another Scrambler coming, but SEMA finally gave us something much more substantial to look at.
The Wrangler Scrambler SRT Concept takes the basic CJ-8 idea — open-air Jeep capability mixed with a pickup bed — and pushes it in a completely different direction. Instead of building another slow-speed rock crawler, SRT went after high-speed desert performance.
The biggest surprise is underneath, where the concept uses a custom long-travel independent front suspension developed with off-road racer Casey Currie. That is a pretty big departure for a Wrangler, which has traditionally been defined by its solid front axle.
Jeep also says there is V8 power under the hood, although it hasn’t told us exactly what engine is in there yet.
Want a closer look at what could eventually become one of Jeep’s most interesting production models?
Read The Full Story: Jeep® Wrangler Scrambler SRT Concept Makes Debut At SEMA
1996 Dodge Ram Runner V10 in Dandelion Yellow. (Cars & Bids). This V10 Dodge Ram Is One Most Americans Never Got
Long before the Ram SRT-10 arrived, Dodge was already putting a V10 into a short-bed sport truck.
The catch? You had to live in Mexico to buy one.
The 1996 Dodge Ram Runner combined a Regular Cab, short bed, rear-wheel drive, and the massive 8.0-liter MAGNUM V10 normally found in heavy-duty Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups. In U.S.-spec trucks, that engine was rated at 300 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque.
Production is often said to have been around 100 trucks, although a firm factory number has been difficult to document.
Now, a bright Dandelion Yellow example has surfaced on Cars & Bids, giving us a rare opportunity to look at one of the strangest factory Dodge sport trucks of the 1990s.
Read The Full Story: Rare Dodge Ram Runner V10 Surfaces On Cars & Bids
Kaulig Racing No. 16 Dodge Charger Rendering. (MoparInsiders). Dodge’s NASCAR Comeback Is Finally Real
After years of rumors, Dodge is officially headed back to the NASCAR Cup Series.
Kaulig Racing will field two Dodge Chargers beginning in 2027, putting the brand back in NASCAR’s top series for the first time since leaving after the 2012 season.
But the announcement answered only the biggest question.
We’re still waiting on several important details, including the full driver lineup and a formal announcement surrounding the engine program. We do know the new Charger body has already cleared wind-tunnel testing, and the first points-paying race for Dodge’s comeback is scheduled to be the Daytona 500 on February 21, 2027.
The next big date is December 4, when Dodge is scheduled to show the new Cup car at the Snowball Derby.
There is still a lot left to learn before Daytona.
Read The Full Story: Dodge’s NASCAR Return — What We Know
2027 Ram 1500 Rumble Bee Foose Edition by Fox Factory Vehicles. (Fox Factory). Chip Foose Gives The Rumble Bee The Street-Truck Treatment
The 2027 Ram 1500 Rumble Bee already has plenty of attitude, but Chip Foose and Fox Factory Vehicles decided it needed to sit lower and make a lot more power.
The Rumble Bee Foose Edition unveiled at SEMA gets a Ridetech coilover suspension, Foose-designed 22-inch wheels, custom bodywork, revised graphics, and a much more traditional street-truck stance.
Under the hood, things get even more serious.
The standard version uses a Whipple-supercharged 6.4-liter HEMI® V8 with an estimated 705 horsepower. Buyers looking for an even bigger number can step up to an SRT configuration targeting 1,000 horsepower.
There is one catch: Fox Factory lists the starting price at $154,990.
It definitely isn’t cheap, but it might be one of the best-looking interpretations of the new Rumble Bee we’ve seen yet.
Read The Full Story: Foose Gives The 2027 Ram Rumble Bee A Lowered Look
2027 Dodge Durango GT HEMI Plus Blacktop Redline in Sub-Zero. (Dodge). Sub-Zero Comes To The 2027 Dodge Durango
We saw this one coming.
After Dodge brought Redeye, After Dark, and Smokescreen to the 2027 Durango lineup, another Charger color has officially made the jump.
Sub-Zero is a blue-gray finish that can look noticeably different depending on the lighting. In the shade, it has a darker and more understated appearance. Get it out in direct sunlight, and much more of the blue comes through.
The $595 color can be ordered across the entire HEMI®-powered Durango lineup, from the 360-horsepower GT HEMI AWD through the 710-horsepower SRT HELLCAT and HELLCAT Jailbreak.
It also gives the Durango 11 exterior colors for 2027, which isn’t bad for a vehicle this late in its life cycle.
Read The Full Story: Dodge Adds Sub-Zero To The 2027 Durango
Direct Connection 392 HEMI Super Stock. (Mopar). SEMA Gave Mopar Fans Plenty To Talk About
This week’s five stories really covered several different eras of Mopar performance.
The Wrangler Scrambler SRT Concept shows Jeep and SRT are willing to experiment with hardware we would have never expected to see under a Wrangler only a few years ago. Whether everything on the concept reaches production is another question, but the direction is certainly interesting.
At the opposite end of the timeline, the Dodge Ram Runner V10 reminds us that Chrysler was building some strange and interesting performance trucks long before anybody started calling pickups lifestyle vehicles.
Ram’s new Foose Edition Rumble Bee brings that street-truck mentality right back into 2027, only now we’re talking about as much as 1,000 horsepower.
Then there is NASCAR.
For the first time in more than a decade, we know Dodge is actually coming back to the Cup Series. There are still plenty of unanswered questions, but we won’t have to wait much longer to see the Charger that will lead that return.
And while Sub-Zero paint might not be as dramatic as a V8 Scrambler or a 1,000-horsepower pickup, giving Durango buyers more choices is never a bad thing.
With SEMA behind us and Dodge’s NASCAR reveal coming next month, there is already plenty lined up for the weeks ahead.
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Robert S. Miller