Dana White paid $1.5 million for the first customer-bound 2027 Ram 1500 Rumble Bee SRT and a one-off Viper-powered Ram SRT-10.
Dana White paid $1.5 million for the first customer-bound 2027 Ram 1500 Rumble Bee SRT and a one-off Viper-powered Ram SRT-10. Every dollar from the sale of the two trucks at the charity auction will benefit organizations supporting military families, first responders and other charitable causes.
UFC CEO Dana White has long been involved in promoting Ram's high-performance trucks, and now one of them is headed to his personal garage. And it's bringing along another highly unusual Ram for company.
At the Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas, White paid $1.5 million for two unique pickups offered together as a single lot. The centerpiece was the first customer-bound example of the new 2027 Ram 1500 Rumble Bee SRT, carrying VIN 001.
The second truck was a heavily modified 2005 Ram 1500 SRT-10 powered by the massive V10 engine from the Dodge Viper.
Bidding opened at $600,000, but the price quickly climbed past the $1 million mark. White ultimately placed the winning $1.5 million bid.
In this case, comparing that figure with the trucks' normal market value doesn't make much sense. The pickups were sold for charity, Barrett-Jackson waived its fees, and the entire sale proceeds will go to two organizations: Folds of Honor and the UFC Foundation.
Folds of Honor provides educational scholarships to families of fallen or disabled military service members and first responders. Proceeds going to the UFC Foundation from this sale will support charitable organizations.
The auction took place on September 11, exactly 25 years after the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001.
The star of the lot, from an automotive standpoint, was the new Ram 1500 Rumble Bee SRT with VIN 001.
The Rumble Bee brings back the idea of a high-performance, street-focused Ram pickup. Unlike the off-road-oriented SRT TRX, this truck is designed primarily for pavement.
The standard Rumble Bee SRT is powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat-family HEMI V8 producing 777 horsepower and 680 lb-ft of torque.
That gives the truck a claimed 0-to-60-mph time of 3.4 seconds. It can cover the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds, while its estimated top speed reaches 170 mph.
Dana White's truck, however, will be even more powerful.
The first Rumble Bee will receive a Direct Connection package featuring an upgraded 3.0-liter supercharger. After the modification, the V8 will produce more than 900 horsepower.
The truck will also receive a stainless-steel MagnaFlow exhaust system along with additional components from Ram, SRT and Direct Connection.
Even the truck's paint will be unique.
The auction Rumble Bee was originally slated to wear a combination of Molten Red Pearl-Coat and Diamond Black Crystal Pearl-Coat. However, the winning bidder was given the opportunity to choose the color for VIN 001.
As a result, the first customer Rumble Bee will be more than just the first example of the model. It will also be built to an individual specification.
The second pickup in the package is considerably older, but it's no less interesting from a historical perspective.
The Ram 1500 SRT-10 arrived during an era when Dodge decided to put the Viper's engine into a full-size pickup.
Under the hood is a naturally aspirated 8.3-liter V10 producing 500 horsepower.
In its day, the SRT-10 was one of the most outrageous production pickups on the market. It even set a Guinness World Record for the highest top speed of a production pickup, reaching approximately 155 mph.
The SRT-10 was also one of the inspirations behind the modern Rumble Bee.
But the SRT-10 sold alongside the new truck isn't a standard production example, either.
The pickup was reworked by RealTruck and ProMotorsports with input from Mark Trostle, Ram's vice president of design for Ram, SRT and Mopar.
The body features a custom two-tone yellow-and-black finish, unique wheels and Dodge Viper-inspired graphics on the rear fenders.
Inside, the truck received black leather upholstery with yellow accents.
The build also includes RealTruck PowerStep retractable running boards, a Pro X15 bed cover and protective accessories from Husky Liners.
That puts two generations of American street-performance pickups into a single auction lot.
The SRT-10 represents the early-2000s approach: take a huge naturally aspirated V10 from a sports car and drop it into a full-size pickup. The new Rumble Bee takes a more modern route with a supercharged V8—and White's version pushes output beyond 900 horsepower.
White's connection to Ram is no coincidence, either.
In recent months, the UFC boss has played a prominent role in the brand's advertising campaigns and appeared in teasers for upcoming high-performance models. The Ram-UFC partnership has become part of the brand's return to high-performance vehicles and the revival of the SRT name.
Now that advertising relationship has resulted in something considerably more tangible: two high-performance pickups are heading into the UFC boss's collection, while the entire $1.5 million purchase price will go to charity.