The Hellcat-powered Ram TRX “Raptor-killer” and a new Gladiator
There are two new specialty Ram pickups on the way, one of which has literally been in the works for years—since before the current “DT” series of Ram trucks was launched.
The Ram TRX was first shown with a detuned Hellcat V8; recent reports claim the detuning is gone and it will pump out the full 707 (or more) horsepower. However, those who don’t need quite so much power under the hood can opt for a second Ram TRX, not supercharged, and presumably carrying the 392 Hemi (6.4 V8) instead. That’s still an impressive engine, carrying 485 horsepower and providing “instant-on” torque.
Both versions of the TRX will go up directly against the Ford Raptor, and both will be designed to charge at high speed across off-road trails and obstacles. The 4×4 system will include a low gear, as one might expect, and will also have an “axle lock” setting via pushbutton. Expect to see the SRT Launch Control system for automatically optimized acceleration—and the rest of the “SRT Performance Pages” goodies as well.
The Bilstein shocks will have remote reservoirs with inner bodies; brakes are likely to be Brembos. The suspension will, as one would expect, be highly modified. Ram does have an advantage in that its normal trucks have a multi-link rear suspension, rather than leaf springs.
A Ram pickup based on the Jeep Gladiator is also expected, but the form of it is still unknown; it might strip out the off-road goodies to cut the Gladiator’s rather steep price, allowing FCA to produce roughly the same number of pickups without diluting the Jeep name, allowing a high premium for one version and a somewhat lower profit for the other.
Clark Westfield grew up fixing up and driving past-their-prime American cars, including various GM and Mopar V8s. He has ghostwritten auto news for the last few years, and lives in Farmingdale, New York.