Ram has gone all-out and put a Hellcat engine in the 1500
Wednesday, 19 August 2020
Ram has evidently decided it's had enough of Ford's F-150 Raptor hogging the hi-po truck crown. This is the Hellcat-powered 1500 TRX.
Ram calls the TRX “the apex predator of the truck world” and we can see why. The pick-up has a bonnet full of vents and intakes, a blunt nose and wheel clearances large enough to sit in. This thing looks menacing, to put it lightly.
The reason for all those gashes up front what’s rumbling under the hood. Ram hasn’t just plonked any V8 into the TRX, it gave it the supercharged 6.2-litre Hellcat engine making 523kW and 881Nm.
Funnily enough, that makes the TRX the least powerful member of the Hellcat family. Ram says the longer intake and exhaust paths reduce power a bit. It’s still head and shoulders above the current F-150 Raptor’s 335kW/691Nm though, at least before you start getting into aftermarket stuff.
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A ZF eight-speed transmission shared with the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk directs power to all four corners via a part-time four-wheel drive system.
The transfer case has been upgraded with a new chain, pinion, bearings and clutches to handle that torque and a Dana 60 solid rear axle with an electronic locking rear differential suspends the rear end.
Hitting 60mph (97kmh) takes 4.5 seconds, compared to the F-150 Raptor’s 5.7 seconds, and the TRX will finish the quarter mile run in 12.9 seconds.
Ram’s engineers didn’t stop at the engine. They also gave the TRX a frame with stronger steel and thicker, heavier rails. All in, only 25 per cent of the base 1500’s frame was carried over.
The manufacturer didn’t go into details but representatives apparently threw some shade at Ford, saying the TRX would be able to handle repeated jumps and off-road abuse without breaking “unlike some of [the TRX’s] competitors,” a reference to viral videos of the Raptor’s frame snapping in the middle after attempting jumps more suited to monster trucks.
Massive 325/65R18 tyres measuring 35 inches tall are standard, the actual rubber being Goodyear Wrangler Territory specially developed for the TRX. Helping off-road performance are Bilstein Blackhawk E2 adaptive shocks at each wheel with remote reservoirs.
There’s a total of 300mm of ground clearance and the rear springs are the tallest on any non-commercial vehicle sold in the US.
If you’ve seen the inside of a normal Ram 1500, this won’t be all that groundbreaking. There is contrast stitching, a console-mounted gear shifter that replaces the rotary unit usually present and a few different trim and options packages that range from cloth and vinyl upholstery to leather and suede coverings.
There is no word yet on whether the TRX will make it to New Zealand. But if you’re in America, expect to pay at least US$69,995 (NZ$106k) plus a destination charge of US$1695.