Ram is back to doing what it does best: Offering special editions of its trucks that are more about delivering value to buyers with a little flair than they are about big price tags and fancy features. The latest is the 2026 Ram 1500 Express, continuing a name that Ram first offered 86 years ago.

Ram 1500 Express Fills the Gap Left by Classic

When Ram recently stopped building the 1500 Classic — the last-generation truck — it left a hole at the bottom of the lineup. The MSRP for the Classic started from $38,705, while most trims of the newer-shape Ram 1500 were priced above $55,000.

The 2026 Ram 1500 Express is aimed clearly at the left-out shoppers, with a starting price of $44,495, including destination. That’s for a quad-cab 2WD truck, but Ram will offer Crew Cab models and will also have optional 4×4 for not much cash. A Crew Cab 4×4 starts from $51,095, including destination.

Every 2026 Ram 1500 Express comes with 20-inch wheels as standard. The 305-horsepower 3.6L V6 is standard, but you can get the 420-horsepower 3.0L Hurricane I6 that first appeared in the Grand Wagoneer L for $1,695 more.

Other features include adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking. And the top-spec for towing is 11,500 pounds for trucks with the Hurricane engine.

Monochromatic Treatment Along With Extra Features

Like previous special-edition Rams, this one will be very monochrome. It will have gloss black grille surrounds, body-color bumpers at both ends, and no badges. Add the Black package to the Ram 1500 Express for $995, and you get a Sport hood, black badges and wheels, and side steps, as well as cloth buckets and a floor console inside.

The first Ram Express was actually a Dodge. It sold the package on a T-series truck with a 78-horsepower flat-head six-cylinder making 78 horsepower. That truck was $670 new, Ram says. The package came back in 2013, and Ram says it made up 20% of orders. The same thing happened when it came back in 2019.

Ram says there will be 25 more product announcements in the next 18 months. CEO Tim Kuniskis says some will be wild, but that some will be mild. This one, clearly, is on the mild side of the equation. The 2026 Ram 1500 Express will be at dealers in the third quarter of 2025.