Ram 392 Quick Silver Concept First Test
BY / JULY 27, 2012 /29
Not much of a logical, rational case can be made for the Dodge Ram SRT-10. A full-size pickup with a Viper engine isn't a practical vehicle. It doesn't address any unmet need in the market. It's ridiculous, and that's what we loved about it. As it happens, though, OEMs like Ford (F-150 Lightning) and Chrysler (Ram SRT-10) are chasing the off-road enthusiast these days, and as much as we like the SVT Raptor (Ford) and the Ram Runner (Chrysler), we miss the SRT Ram. We've brought the issue up with the folks at Ram and SRT on more than one occasion, but they keep telling us it's not in the cards right now. Someday, who knows? But who wants to wait? Not us, and neither do some of the SRT and Mopar guys. They decided the time was right for a new SRT truck, and after many late nights and weekends, they pulled the cover off the Ram 392 Quick Silver concept at last year's SEMA show.
At that point, Ram and SRT had no intention of letting journalists drive the Quick Silver concept, much less put it into production. After quite a bit of negotiating, though, we convinced them to send it to us, with the stipulation that we would only test its straight-line performance. Despite all the upgrades, the builders say they never had time to finish tuning the ride and handling. Since it wasn't supposed to be driven, that wasn't a priority.
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The Ram 392 Quick Silver concept is a single cab, short-bed Ram stuffed with SRT's potent 470-hp, 392-cubic-inch V-8. Its 6.4 liters of all-American displacement pump out 470 lb-ft of torque, which normally powers SRT Challengers, Chargers, and Grand Cherokees. Under the Ram's hood, the 392 benefits only from a Mopar cold-air intake and custom headers, prototypes that may show up in a future Mopar catalog. They dump into a modified Mopar 3.0-inch exhaust with electrically actuated cutouts and dual 5.0-inch tips. The rest of the drivetrain consists of the stock six-speed automatic with a high-stall torque converter and a 4.10:1 rear end for better performance.
So what will an extra 80 hp and 63 lb-ft of torque get you compared with the top-spec 5.7-liter V-8? It'll get you Ram SRT10 performance. At the dragstrip, the Quick Silver hit 60 mph from a stop in just 5.2 seconds and ran the quarter mile in 13.7 seconds at 101.2 mph. The last Ram SRT10 we tested, an automatic transmission-equipped 2005 model with a 4.10:1 rear end, needed 5.3 seconds to hit 60 mph and 13.7 seconds to run the quarter, though it was traveling slightly faster at 102.9 mph. Despite being down 40 hp and 55 lb-ft of torque compared with the V-10, the 392 V-8 had no trouble wearing the SRT badge at the dragstrip. To be fair, the fastest Ram SRT10 we've ever tested was a 2004 with a manual transmission and 4.56 rear end, which hit 60 mph in a blistering 4.9 seconds and ran the quarter in 13.2 seconds at 107.1 mph.
Of course, if you’re going to build your own Ram SRT, you might be able to do them one better. While Mopar will sell you an 800-horsepower V-10 crate engine, it’s designed exclusively for drag racing and wouldn’t really be streetable. The 6.4-liter 392 V-8 in this truck, meanwhile, has been discontinued as a crate engine. You could trawl the internet for some poor sap who’s wrecked his SRT and buy his engine, but there aren’t many out there. Instead, may we suggest Mopar’s new 7.0-liter 426 Hemi crate engine. It makes a Ram SRT10-beating 540 horsepower and 530 pound-feet of torque. We think it would do the job nicely.
With that, you're ready to build your own Ram SRT. Now, if all you want is a big honkin' motor, all you need is a Ram ($24,175 for a base V-8 Ram ST if you don't already have one) and the crate engine, which costs a cool $17,000. Naturally, you're going to require some miscellaneous parts and maybe an exhaust shop if you're not a big fabricator, but you could get out the door for around $41,000 if you do the work yourself.
Sounds like a lot, but remember, the Ram SRT10 started at $50,000 back in 2005 ($56,625 in today's dollars, thanks to inflation). You'll also need to come up with a header solution unless these are approved for production. Budget $1000 to be safe, though some will cost even more than that.
If you want to build your own Quick Silver, you'll need a few more dollars. The Quick Silver is fitted with a nice list of Mopar parts, along with a few other bits from other suppliers. Starting with the Mopar parts, you'll want $1375 for the lockable fiberglass tonneau cover and another $422 for the BedRug. To get the right look, budget another $959 for the body kit. Inside, you'll need the Katzkin leather-wrapped SRT seats, which run $749, and don't forget the $119 door-sill guards, the $112 bright pedal kit, and the $71 premium floormats. For performance, the cold-air intake goes for $420, and the cat-back exhaust system costs another $1500. But what about the bulging hood? For now, it's a prototype, and, like the headers, not approved for production, so you'll have to find another option. Plan to spend around $1300 for a Mopar or similar quality product.
Then there's the other stuff. The 22-inch HRE wheels you see here are a good stand-in for the Viper-inspired wheels on the Ram SRT10, but they aren't cheap. They'll run you about $1600 each, for a total of $6400, plus another $1200 for the Pirelli Scorpion Zero asymmetrical tires. The Ground Force 2-inch drop suspension will cost about another $800 for the full kit.
Don't forget your brake upgrade. Brembo doesn't do aftermarket calipers, so the SRT guys must've borrowed these out of the bin. You'll have to find another solution, and budget at least $1200 for bolt-in parts, more for custom work. Speaking of custom, that custom paint job could run you anywhere from $1000 for a cheapo job to $20,000 if you want to be able to fix your hair in the reflection.
Finally, there are the little pieces. Some you can pick up at your local dealer, like the Laramie Longhorn shift knob or the Ram logo wheel center caps. Likewise the badges and the contrast color mirror caps, if you want a stock color like the red ones you see here. You'll have to source some of the other bits elsewhere, like the McGard Tough Nuts locking lug nuts, the carbon-fiber dash kit, and the Kicker speakers. Budget a few hundred dollars for all that. Then there are the custom pieces, like the red-painted interior trim and the custom bezels on the gauges. Those you'll probably have to fabricate yourself.
All said and done, if you want to build your own Ram Quick Silver, you're looking at nearly $37,000 in parts before paint and any installation fees for work you can't do yourself. Add in the price of the vehicle, and you're looking at about $60,000 minimum to build this truck as it sits. We'd start with the engine, suspension, and brakes and have a killer sleeper, but like any custom build, your imagination (and your wallet) is the limit. Be sure to send us pictures.
Ram 392 Quick Silver Concept
BASE PRICE RANGE $41,000 (est)
PRICE AS TESTED $60,000 (est)
LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door pickup
ENGINES 6.4L/470-hp/470-lb-ft OHV 16-valve V-8
TRANSMISSION 6-speed auto
WHEELBASE 120.5 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 209.0 x 79.4 x 72.6 in
0-60 MPH 5.2 sec
QUARTER MILE 13.7 sec @ 101.2 mph
EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON N/A
