--- title: "Ram Midsize Truck: Could It Be a V8-Powered Reskinned Jeep Gladiator?" date: "2025-10-16" modified: "2025-10-16" authors: - name: "Andrew P. Collins" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/andrew-p-collins" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/ram-midsize-truck-could-it-be-a-v8-powered-reskinned-jeep-gladiator" categories: - "Car Tech" - "Jeep News" - "Manufacturing" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "RAM News" tags: - "jeep gladiator" - "pickup" --- # Ram Midsize Truck: Could It Be a V8-Powered Reskinned Jeep Gladiator? ![Ram 1500 Tungsten trim.]() *\Ram\* The upcoming[ mid-sized Ram pickup truck]() is now slated to be built at [Stellantis]()' Toledo Assembly Complex, where the [Jeep Wrangler]() and [Gladiator]() are made. That got us thinking—will the new, smaller Ram basically be a Gladiator with a different body? It'd certainly make sense, since the Jeep truck is already essentially a slightly shrunken Ram platform design. Ram [confirmed]() it'd be doing a Ford [Ranger]()/Chevy [Colorado]()/Nissan [Frontier]()-sized pickup earlier this year, but it was initially going to be constructed at the automaker conglomerate's now-idle Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois. Stellantis still plans to bring that plant back online, to make more Jeep Compasses and Cherokees, but the company has now announced "an investment of nearly $400 million" earmarked for Toledo to add capacity for the truck as part of its [$13 billion bet on the US market](). Here's the relevant excerpt from Stellantis' recent [media release](): "With an investment of nearly $400 million, assembly of an all-new midsize truck, previously allocated to the Belvidere plant, plans to move to the Toledo Assembly Complex, where it will join the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator. The production shift could create more than 900 jobs. Launch timing is expected in 2028." "The Company also intends to continue with investments in its Toledo operations as previously announced in January. This includes additional technologies and strong product actions for both the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator, and more components critical to production at the Toledo Machining Plant." The Gladiator, with the right equipment, is already pretty close to Ranger and Colorado rivals on important truck specs like towing capacity (around 7,500 pounds). Ram would be wise to add, at least, a longer bed than the Jeep offers (Gladiator's is five feet with the tailgate closed), but perhaps the most enticing concept that a Gladiator platform offers is V8 compatibility. A Jeep Gladiator 392 V8 has already been [confirmed](), and we know the company plans to keep cranking out the Wrangler 392 indefinitely. If Ram is looking for an easy way to stand out, an optional Hemi V8 for a mid-sized truck would definitely get customers' attention. The mid-sized Ram will surely run independent front suspension rather than a solid front axle like a Jeep has, and probably be less off-road focused in other ways, too. But I'm sure there will be a decent amount of design-sharing between the trucks if they're going to be built alongside each other. Our friends at [*The Autopian*]() had a similar thought and also pointed out that the next Wrangler/Gladiator and this new Ram are scheduled to come out at the same time. That lends even more credence to the idea that there will be platform-sharing. Could this also mean the next version of Jeep's iconic off-roader could ditch the solid front axle (gasp!)? Ram's yet-unnamed mid-sized truck has also been rumored to have some kind of [electrification element](), too. Perhaps a [4xe hybrid Gladiator]() could be back on the table as part of this development as well. *Got any other good ideas for the new mid-sized Ram? Let's talk about it: andrew.collins.@thedrive.com.* ## Author As Executive Editor, Andrew touches everything on the site from daily news coverage to feature stories, sponsored content, product reviews, road testing vehicles, ecommerce, and more. He's held pretty much every role there is to have at an automotive news site and has been with The Drive's publisher Recurrent since 2020. Andrew's a lifetime gearhead and longtime writer with a particularly strong penchant for road trips, off-road adventures, and archaic vehicles. His passions outside of the automotive world include skiing, obsolete video games, and his dog Bramble who occationally helps review cars. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()