It appears as if Ram will lean even additional into the extended-range electrical vehice (EREV) house, augmenting the forthcoming 1500 Ramcharger with one thing which may give house owners of the Tesla Cybertruck some pause. Dad or mum firm Stellantis filed a patent yesterday on a “torque optimization system” for a three-motor electrical automobile with a variety extender, and since packaging a fuel engine, three motors, a gas tank, and a battery would probably be a problem on smaller autos, we predict the powertrain will dwell in a Ram.
Preserving The Horsepower Reined In
The Stellantis patent particularly pertains to a powertrain management system that might work with a tri-motor electrical automotive, in addition to one with an EREV gasoline generator on board. The patent says that present two-motor EREVs, such because the Ramcharger, current a “three-dimensional” drawback – one engine plus two motors. A tri-motor EREV, due to this fact, turns into a four-dimensional drawback that requires four-dimensional solutions, together with managing torque output on every motor and dialing in how a lot energy the fuel engine must generate to maintain the battery charged.
Whereas the software program and {hardware} options specified by the patent aren’t significantly earth-shattering, that is the primary we have heard Stellantis point out a three-motor powertrain along with a variety extender. The Dodge Charger SRT Banshee idea is a pure-electric, tri-motor muscle automotive (in concept at the least), however because the patent particularly mentions EREVs, we predict it’s going to apply as a substitute to a Ram product. The corporate has already introduced (but additionally delayed) the Ramcharger, so it stands to purpose there is perhaps a higher-performance variant of the truck in improvement.
A 1500 Sport Truck Or A Heavy-Hauling Diesel Substitute?
A tri-motor Ram pickup would most definitely take the type of a 1500-based sport truck which may produce 800 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque or extra, numbers that simply eclipse the Ramcharger’s 647 hp and 610 lb-ft. Assuming it makes use of the identical 92-kilowatt-hour battery pack, we presume that the inner combustion engine is perhaps extra aggressive than the three.6-liter Pentastar V6 discovered within the present EREV. Given Ram claims the Ramcharger will hit 60 in 4.5 seconds, a three-motor model of the truck may do the deed in 3.0 seconds or so, giving the model a correct followup to the Viper-powered SRT-10 of the mid-2000s (and a good rival to the 840-hp, 2.5-second Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast).
Then once more, the three-motor EREV powertrain might portend a lower-emissions, higher-torque powertrain for the Ram Heavy Responsibility, maybe with a small-displacement diesel generator to offer energy to the battery. Beating the 475 hp on faucet from the 2500 and 3500’s accessible 6.7-liter Cummins straight-six will not be a problem for an EV powertrain, though the oil burner’s 1,075 lb-ft of torque is perhaps tougher to match. Nonetheless, with the precise powertrain administration, three electrical motors is perhaps the proper match for a heavy-hauling fullsize truck, particularly because the theoretical inside combustion generator can run at its peak effectivity charge and let the traction motors do all of the laborious work.
The corporate hasn’t responded to a request for remark or clarification on the matter, but when it does, we’ll preserve you up to date.