The Ram 1500 TRX, the world’s most powerful pickup, is supercharging brand interest
The 702 hp Ram 1500 TRX 'supertruck' is getting attention
Ram is charging into the end of 2020 on the back of the world’s most powerful pickup.
The newly-introduced 2021 Ram 1500 TRX features a 702 horsepower version of the supercharged “Hellcat” V8 found in the Dodge Challenger muscle car and is quicker than any full-size truck in production today.
The next most-powerful light-duty pickups for 2021 are the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, which are available with 420 horsepower V8s. If it seems like Ram went a little overboard to outshine its rivals, that’s because it did.
“We knew that if we were going to bring T. Rex to life that it had to be the no-compromise supertruck and we had to be authentic and we had to be genuine and we had to be real,” Mike Koval, Head of Ram Brand, told Fox Business.
The pickup’s paleontological nickname is more than a riff on the TRX moniker. Ford’s last high-performance F-150 was called the Raptor and we all know how Jurassic Park ended.
“The demand that we have seen since the TRX reveal has been overwhelming. We've seen record levels of website inquires to Ram.com as well as to our Ram dealership showrooms,” Koval said.
“Lots of people want it and or want to know more about it, and it is enticing them to come to Ram. People that maybe have never considered this before are now seeking this out.”
Ram offered 702 special Launch Edition models that sold out in less than three hours at a starting price of $92,101 and Koval expects the standard $71,790 model to keep flying out of showrooms with no limits on production.
“We will build a truck for every person that wants one,” he said.
Ram’s full-size pickups outsold Chevy’s in the third quarter and the two are neck and neck vying to finish second behind Ford for the year, and Koval said things are looking good coming into the final weeks thanks to a strong segment recovery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“People still need their trucks to tow and to haul and to go to work and to do the things they need to do,” he said.
THE MOST-POWERFUL PICKUPS IN AMERICA
But while the TRX is at the top of the truck food chain today, it won’t not be for long. Tesla and GMC are both introducing quicker electric pickups next year with upwards of 1,000 hp, and Ford is launching a battery-powered F-150 soon that it said will be the most powerful model in its lineup.
Ram hasn’t announced any plans for an all-electric pickup, but Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call that details on an “electrified” truck will be coming soon.
His choice of “electrified” rather than “electric” could mean he was referring to a hybrid. The brand already makes a mild hybrid V6 standard on the Ram 1500 that’s not capable of pure electric drive, but Manley was likely referring to something more robust like a plug-in hybrid or full-electric powertrain.
Koval didn’t reveal any new details on the upcoming model, but reiterated that “Ram is committed to electrification.”