ULTIMATE OFF-ROAD PACKAGE
It's fair to say that no automotive company in the world has ever offered a more off-road-ready pickup truck than the Dodge Power Wagon. Reintroduced as an '05 model, the Power Wagon is based on the Ram 2500 pickup truck and features forged Alcoa aluminum wheels, 33-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires, Bilstein shocks, off-road-tuned spring rates, 4.56 axle gears, front and rear selectable locking differentials, a full skidplate package, an electronic disconnect sway bar, and a factory-installed Warn winch.
That option sheet reads like an off-roader's wish list, but what has kept the Power Wagon off the Diesel Power radar is the lack of a Cummins engine.
WHY NO CUMMINS?
The short answer is the intercooler and radiator packaging for the 5.9L and 6.7L engines interferes with the mounting of the Warn winch and the electronic sway bar. That makes sense to us, but we also suspect the rear AAM 1050 axle (instead of the AAM 1150 axle that the diesel trucks get) may decrease the cargo and towing capacity below what diesel truck buyers expect.
In past years, we would have also told you that the front AAM 925 axle's selectable locker and axleshafts wouldn't have been up to the Cummins' torque. This theory seems to have been proved wrong by the fact that this Power Wagon was fitted with 40-inch tall tires, and we witnessed the truck being bashed on for a full week in the off-road mecca of Moab, Utah.
WHY A DIESEL POWER WAGON NOW?
Officially, this 6.7L Power Wagon is proof of a concept that the Mopar Performance group built in conjunction with the Mopar Underground design team to show what could be done with existing OEM parts. If you ask us though, we'd say that Chrysler engineers and designers have been itching to build this diesel-powered package for decades, and they finally got the green light.
If we gaze into our diesel crystal ball, we think this truck could suggest that the new Dodge Ram diesel due to debut in 2010 may be available some time in 2011 or 2012 with a Power Wagon package. We doubt the 40-inch tires will make it to production, but 35- or 37-inch tires could easily be stuffed under the new body. We've been waiting 10 years to get to drive a diesel Power Wagon, and now that we have, we'll hang on a couple more years to see if Dodge is really serious about offering one.
Would you consider buying a diesel Power Wagon? Send us an e-mail at dieselpower@sourceinterlink.com to tell us what you think.
 Almost 10 years after this...  Almost 10 years after this silver diesel Power Wagon debuted at the Detroit Auto Show, we've finally been able to drive the '07 version-and we want one! |  Here's a rare sketch of the...  Here's a rare sketch of the diesel Power Wagon concept truck drawn by Mark Allen of the Mopar Underground design team back in 1997. |  For more than 60 years the...  For more than 60 years the Dodge Power Wagon name has been synonymous with utility and set the bar for modern Dodge Ram durability. |