Shortly After the 2021 Ford Bronco was revealed, it was announced by a Ford spokesperson that the Bronco isn’t for Europe in any way, shape, or form. Given Europe’s strict emissions regulations and massive taxes on big engines, you’d assume that the RAM TRX would be stuck on the sidelines just like the Ford Bronco. Ford is even offering the Bronco with a three-banger, and it won’t cross the pond, but the HEMI-powered Ram TRX will be making that journey, and it could be happening sooner than you might expect.

The Ram 1500 TRX Will Be Imported by AEC Europe

The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX represents just about everything that is America today (minus the protests and riots, of course). It’s a big burly truck, it’s capable of crossing just about any terrain, and it’s overly powerful to the point that it almost doesn’t make sense. That has America written all over it, but as it turns out, Europe is going to get its own little piece of American culture in the form of that very off-road pickup.

Of course, it’s not just as easy as loading a bunch of TRXs on a boat and dropping them at port. Right now, AEC is trying to iron out the importation logistics that include testing and adapting the truck to European standards. Apparently, and according to the company, there’s a growing demand for high-performance pickup trucks in Europe, so it’s expecting the TRX to be a huge success there. The only question is how much it will cost as importing alone isn’t cheap, then you have to factor in the modifications that need to be made to make it acceptable for road use in Europe. Add in the extra import taxes, gas guzzler taxes, VAT, and a number of other things that will nickel and dime you to death, and you should expect to pay well above the entry-level $69.995 sticker price.

For what it’s worth, the TRX will also be the gift that keeps on taking. I personally spend about half of my year or more in Europe, and I can tell you without a doubt that yearly taxes for vehicles with big engines are sky-high. We’re talking about anywhere between €1800 and €2,300 per year, depending on the country and configuration of a vehicle this caliber. That equates to between $2,159 and $2,750 – can you imagine paying that much to keep your Ram on the road here in the United States? You also have to factor in that most European streets are narrow (ever been to Italy?) as are parking spots, and the Rebel TRX is far from small. The Rebel TRX might end up being more stressful than it’s worth.

I’m also curious to know about what kind of performance the TRX will make once modified to European standards. It’s also more than capable of handling anything the mountains in Europe can throw at it. Between the unique design of the chassis and suspension (including the 2.5-inch Bilstein shocks), the TRX has some impressive off-road specs. The suspension can travel as much as 13-inches in the front and 14-inches in the rear, it can ford through 32-inches (just over 81 cm) of water, and has 11.8-inches of ground clearance.

For now, we don’t know about else about what AEC is planning for the Ram TRX, but it claims it expects deliveries to start in December of 2020, so it won’t take long for the new off-roader to cross the pond.