SPIED: Where Is The Ram 1500 Tradesman Sport?

In May, our sister site 5thGenRams.com showcased some spy shots of a prototype 2019 Ram 1500. What made this all-new Ram 1500 so unique was it appeared to be a Tradesman with a Sport appearance package. While their are two Sport appearance package available on Big Horn (Lone Star) and Laramie models, this package would have replaced the affordable fourth generation Ram 1500 Express model.

For the past several years, Ram has been offering the very popular and affordable “Express” trim on their Ram 1500. The Express package features the 305 horsepower 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 standard (optional 5.7-liter HEMI V8), cloth split bench seating, body color front fascia and rear bumper, body color grille, ParkSense rear backup camera and 17-inch painted aluminum wheels (20-inch chrome clad aluminum wheels are optional). The truck offered customers a pickup with sporty looks with a budget friendly price.

While many have questioned the spy photos being just a Big Horn Sport, there is some features that make it stand out over a Big Horn Sport model. First would have to be the door handles, on Big Horn Sport models the handles are painted in the truck’s exterior paint color. This Tradesman Sport still uses the Tradesman’s standard black door handles. Grilles are also slightly different with the Big Horn sport having the black slat inserts and the Tradesman Sport having a honeycomb insert.

Another feature that stands out on this truck over the Big Horn Sport is the mirrors. When you order a Big Horn Sport, you automatically get exterior painted mirror caps. This prototype has the standard Tradesman and base Big Horn mirrors that do not feature build in turn signals, where the Big Horn Sport models are equipped with them.

Looking at the rear of the truck, this prototype does not have the dual-rear exiting exhaust even though it is equipped with a 5.7-liter HEMI V8. Instead is a standard single exhaust coming out behind the passenger side rear wheel.

The 20-inch aluminum wheels are another important detail that is different than what is available on the other Sport packages. The 5-spoke aluminum wheels with black pockets are not available on either Sport package. However, they are shown on the all-new Canadian-only 2019 Ram 1500 Sport model’s Build & Price option list. Although, it is not available to be chosen as an option on the site.

So why haven’t we seen this truck in the all-new 2019 Ram 1500 lineup yet? One answer might be that the fourth generation Ram 1500 is still available for the 2019 model as the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic. On the Classic models, you can still purchase the affordable Express package.