New Car: 2011 Ram Laramie Longhorn Edition

Ram is debuting its most expensive and luxurious full-size truck yet at the State Fair of Texas today, called the Laramie Longhorn Edition.

Available on the 1500, 2500, and 3500 models, the 2011 Laramie Longhorn Edition is expected to reach some very high-end neighborhoods.

“The Ram Laramie Longhorn edition is going to share a driveway with some fine luxury cars,” said Fred Diaz, head of the Ram Truck brand. “The only difference is the Ram Laramie Longhorn edition is going to be the vehicle with the full-time job – towing the horse trailer, taking the crew to the game, picking up supplies. It’s ready to go from the dirt to downtown.”

The interior of this luxury truck gets as much attention as the outside. In a live chat today, Ryan Nagode, the design lead of the project, talked about his influences.

"As a designer," Nagode said in the chat, "I was thinking about the favorite possessions that a buyer of an expensive truck would own. So, that meant items like an antique pocket watch, a leather saddle or a nice hand-crafted pair of cowboy boots."

Two-tone paint is standard on every Laramie Longhorn and, while the special edition is offered in five colors, only the Sagebrush color is unique to this model. Chrome 20-inch wheels are standard on the 1500. Polished aluminum wheels come on the 2500 and 3500 models, the latter receiving special Laramie Longhorn center caps.

Inside, two different color schemes are available. Whichever one you choose, Nagode says that "it's the most premium leather we've ever offered. Period."

On the bark brown leather, laser etching gives it an almost hand-crafted appeal. The leather-wrapped steering wheel gets special stitching and there's LED lighting near the door handles and map pockets.

Ram goes so far as to say the revised instrument cluster has the appearance of "hand-wrought jewelry." Another neat detail are the storage pockets behind the front seats, which resemble saddle bags. Details like these are everywhere on this truck.

Pricing has yet to be announced, but as the most expensive Ram model, expect a base price of at least $43,000 when it arrives in dealerships during the first quarter of 2011.

Before you start asking who is going to pay for a truck like that, know that Ram claims the high-end Laramie already accounts for 25 percent of all Ram sales. Ram figures 6-10 percent of sales will be the Laramie Longhorn edition, and a greater percentage with Heavy Duty models.

Looks like Ford and GMC's Denali trucks have some real competition from Ram for the 2011 model year. Which luxury truck -- if any -- would you choose?

Thanks to: Motor Trend