Ram Truck Debuts 2019 Ram Heavy Duty Kentucky Derby Edition In New York:

Ram Truck has unveiled the 2019 Ram Heavy Duty Kentucky Derby Edition today at the New York International Autoshow. The May 4th running of the Kentucky Derby marks not only the 10th anniversary for Ram as the Official Truck of Churchill Downs® and the Kentucky Derby but the 145th running of the race as well. To celebrate Ram is releasing a Kentucky Derby edition of the new Ram Heavy Duty.

Based off of a Limited trim (Ram’s top trim-level) the exterior of the Kentucky Derby Edition is differentiated by a standard billet appearance grille shared with the Laramie Longhorn trim and standard body-color bumpers. 

The Kentucky Derby Editions interior is also unique with saddle brown faced premium full leather front and rear seats accented with black leather seat backs and sides. These unique seats also feature medium greystone stitching and piping. The rest of the interior is accented with high-grade leather on the dash, steering wheel, door panels, and center console,  real wood, and metal trim also accentuate the redesigned interior. 

Since the majority of the target audience of this luxury pickup uses their trucks for towing Ram also saw fit to make some optional trailering equipment standard. Kentucky Derby edition trucks feature the 360-degree surround-view camera with trailer-reverse guidance, fifth-wheel/gooseneck prep, active hitch grid lines, air suspension with bed lowering, Forward Collision Warning-Plus with trailer braking, bed step and DOT safety kit allow customers to tow their precious cargo with confidence. Also standard is blind spot monitoring, the 12.1-inch UConnect touchscreen system with Navigation and Sirius XM 360L as well as the power running boards.

The Kentucky Derby edition will be offered in 2500 and 3500 models with the limited trim level. Powertrain choices range from the 6.4-liter HEMI V8 backed by the new eight-speed automatic, or the new 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel. Ram 3500 models will also be available with the 6.7-liter Cummins High Output Turbo Diesel, the first to break the 1,000 lb.-ft of torque barrier backed by the Aisin 6-speed automatic. 

Kentucky Derby editions will be offered in Crew and Mega Cab configurations, single or dual rear wheel setups with either 6’4 or 8-foot beds. Pricing for the 2500 Kentucky Derby Edition starts at $66,890 (USD) plus $1,695 destination while the 3500 starts at $68,240 plus $1,695 destination. These trucks will go on sale in the third quarter of this year and will be limited to 1,000 units. 

Seven exterior colors are available on the Kentucky Derby edition including Bright White, Pearl White, Delmonico Red, Diamond Black Crystal, Granite Crystal, Maximum Steel or Patriot Blue.