Off-road trucks are nothing new, but you can’t get more off-road from the factory than the Ford F-150 Raptor. That was the case until today, 12:00 pm Eastern Time, when the Ram 1500 TRX was revealed to the tune of Foo Fighters – All My Life.
“The quickest, fastest, and most powerful mass-produced truck in the world” packs 702 horsepower ad 650 pound-feet of torque. That’s a whole lot more suck-squeeze-bang-blow than the Raptor, but the impressive numbers don’t end here.
4.5 seconds to 60 mph, 10.5 seconds to 100 mph, 12.9 seconds on the quarter-mile with a trap speed of 108 mph, and a top speed of 118 mph (190 kph). Are you still not impressed? Well, let’s talk about what hides under the ladder-frame chassis.
Up front, Ram has chosen independent suspension with high-strength forged aluminum for the upper and lower control arms as well as 2.5-inch Bilstein Black Hawk e2 adaptive shock absorbers. At the rear, a Dana 60 solid rear axle with a 3.55 ratio, full-floating hubs, an axle-hop damper, and an electronic differential are the highlights. Oh, and wheel travel is greater than 13 inches at all corners.
Goodyear Wrangler Territory 325/65/R18 come standard, working out to 35 inches. That name may come as familiar to you because Ford has opted for Territories as well in the case of the Ford Bronco with the Sasquatch Package. The rubber shoes are developed exclusively for the TRX, promising “unmatched levels of wear resistance, traction and reduced road noise” according to the truck manufacturer.
11.8 inches of ground clearance and 32 inches of water fording are two more characteristics worth mentioning, but how does the Helltruck fare as a… truck? 8,100 pounds of towing capacity and 1,310 pounds of payload capacity make it better than the Ford F-150 Raptor, but the 5.7-liter HEMI eTorque in lesser half-ton Rams is capable of 12,750 and 2,300 pounds, respectively.
The question is, who cares anyway? The Raptor has finally met its match!
Scheduled to arrive at dealers early in the fourth quarter of 2020, the TRX will be available as a Launch Edition as well. Only 702 units will be produced, reflecting the number of ponies that hide under the functional hood scoop.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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