Ram and musician Chris Stapleton have collaborated on a retro-looking pickup truck. The Traveller, named after Stapleton’s 2015 debut album, brings the Ram 2500 Heavy Duty pickup back some 40 years to the late 1970s and early 1980s by adding a touch of vintage style and color inside and out.
Many hints of truck styling come from one of Stapleton’s favorite pickups – the 1979 Ram Palomino. Ram modernized the classic truck color palette, finishing heavy-duty vehicles in Linen Cream, Radar Red, Bison Brown and Cashmere. Ram has also adapted the Palomino stripes to match the 2500s curved sheet metal.
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The truck sports 18-inch retro-style Turbo Fin wheels. They feature an engine face and inner plate design with a bright chrome center cap. The truck lacks the typical Ram branding, instead getting 3D Ram hood ornaments and 1980s-style fonts.
Ram completed more upgrades inside, finishing the interior in a special monochromatic Bison Brown color. Designers added a burst of color through the buffalo plaid flannel used throughout the cabin. It adorns the headrest, the bottom of the center console lid, and the key ring – and that’s a nice contrast. The material is the same as the jacket Stapleton wore on the cover of his debut album, linking the two.
Dedicated front row seats help the Ram’s interior stand out, with Walnut Burl wood helping to create a unique cabin. The seats are cloth-wrapped, and the speaker grille takes inspiration from high-end guitar amp designs. Stapleton’s signature also adorns the interior. It is inlaid with wood on the instrument panel.
“Our journey with Chris throughout his career is something we are very proud of and seeing this Ram Truck collaboration come to fruition is an effort we will cherish for a long time,” said Mike Koval Jr., CEO of Ram.
Currently, the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is hosting the exhibition Chris Stapleton: Since 1978. Ram revealed the truck at the museum on November 7. The show runs until May 2023. Upgrades to the pure original Ram 2500 HD, with truck mechanics, like its Cummins diesel engine, left untouched.
