We first met the “little” 2021 Ram TRX getting ready for a Hellephant 426 crate engine heart transplant at Hennessey Performance back in April. Since then, it went through a riot-inducing first engine startup, as well as the usual calibration process.
The latter also included a visit to the Sealy, Texas-based tuner’s laboratory for a bit of dyno testing. And, because it was too large for the 4x4 rig, it got a bit of front-axle disconnect to deliver no less than 865 horsepower and 912 pound-feet (1,237 Nm) of torque at the rear wheels! Now, all that horsepower and no room to gallop...
Correction, because Hennessey also has a cute thing called the Pennzoil Proving Ground at its disposal. So, it was only natural for the latest episode in the Hellephant 426/Ram TRX saga to unfold out in the open... even if the good folks (the research and development director, a production calibrator) over at Hennessey were pestered by a hot, humid Texas day.
No worries because the Ram TRX seems completely unfazed. It might be the well-known by now “King of the Hill” attitude, or it could be owed to the 426ci and 3.0-liter blower, who knows? More importantly, this unit seems ready to enjoy its stint in America, as the plan is to get converted to the 6x6 package and then ship out overseas.
Before that happens, it happily roars away in and around the proving ground. At first, it enjoys a small cruise (2:10 mark) around the parking lot. That’s just before entering the closed premises and rolling like a maniac with an exhaust voice that would raise the dead to applaud (from the 3:50 and 5:05 marks for the rough terrain one).
The promised launches occur from the 5:30 mark, but of course, there are no definitive figures to be shown just yet. They do tease the pickup truck spinning all four wheels and pulling 1.3Gs in the process... so why the surprise that its traction control intervened during a 30-mph (48 kph) corner at the 7:25 mark?!
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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