In an automotive world overrun by crossovers, SUVs, and trucks, is anyone surprised that Ferrari has made a 715-hp CUV equipped with a naturally aspirated V12 and coach doors?
Probably not at all, at least not after we have seen the likes of the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus, Aston Martin DBX, and the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. And not after, for years, automakers have strived to abandon the workhorse lifestyle and embrace the dune-bashing, rock-crawling ethos, at high speed, for their highest-performing pickup trucks. And it’s all our fault for indulging in such shenanigans.
Alas, what can anyone do when carmakers like Ford and Ram pretend their full-size pickup trucks can endure anything on and off the beaten path if we choose their F-150 Raptor and TRX monsters? It all started decades ago when these companies started thinking that trucks could also make great sports cars, but in modern times, they switched the roleplay to the street-legal version of an off-road trophy truck that could win races like Baja 1000. And they had ample success with that – much more than with the original Ford SVT Lightnings or the GMC Syclones from the 1990s.
After all, the Ford F-150 Raptor has been in continuous production since 2009 and has already reached its third generation while its (arguably) better Ram 1500 TRX rival has taken by storm this decade with its 702-horsepower, supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat V8 mill. But while many high-performance pickup truck fans might think this brawl was a two-way race, the truth is that it could have been a full Detroit Three party if someone (ahem, GM) had been more serious about contending for the crown.
Remember the K2XX third-gen Chevy 1500 Silverado and fourth-gen Sierra that started production back in 2013 for the 2014 model year? That was rocking up to a 6.2-liter V8 with 420 hp on gas or a 6.6-liter Duramax V8 with 445 hp on diesel. And that might have compared favorably with the original SVT Raptor featuring the standard 320-hp 5.4-liter V8 or the optional 6.2-liter Boss V8 with 411 hp from the Super Duty. But there was something even better for GM enthusiasts.
Thanks to Lingenfelter Performance Engineering and select Chevy dealerships, fans also had the option of taking home a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado Reaper that initially began its life as a Silverado Z71, but then it could conquer everything to the tune of a 5.3- or 6.2-liter V8 with up to 550 horsepower on tap! Well, most have forgotten about its short existence but not also Oscar Vargas, the virtual artist better known as wb.artist20 on social media, who cooked up yet another revival for his friend Brian Mello’s ‘Would You Buy One’ feature on YouTube.
Mello’s latest episode of the series focuses on the potential revival by General Motors and Chevrolet of the Silverado ‘Reaper’ nameplate to fight off the madness of 700-hp Ford F-150 Raptor R and 702-hp Ram 1500 TRX ‘dinosaurs.’ Meanwhile, the pixel master is busy answering the call from his fans to equip the hypothetical Silverado ‘Reaper’ reinvention with tuned versions of the Camaro ZL1 LT4 or Caddy Blackwing engines! Cool, right, especially if they could churn out more than 682 horsepower like they currently have on the Cadillac Escalade-V behemoths! Also, do check out the cool side decal, it’s a great pun on Raptors and T-Rexes…
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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