2021 Ram 1500 TRX Ready to Battle Raptor

Ram is ready to rumble.

The company reveals its ’21 Ram 1500 TRX today, aiming to challenge the current king of half-ton performance pickups, the Ford F-150 Raptor. In fact, FCA says the new Ram 1500 TRX has been “engineered to handle the most punishing conditions with extreme capability and to outperform every other truck.”

Ram warned it was revving up a new Hellcat-powered pickup truck when it first displayed the Rebel TRX concept in 2016, and the production TRX’s 702-hp 6.2L V-8 is an evolution of the 575 hp that the concept put out.

The new Ram 1500 TRX produces 650 lb.-ft. (881 Nm) of torque and uses a TorqueFlite 8HP95 8-speed automatic transmission to go from 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.5 seconds and 100 mph (161 km/h) in a total of 10.5 seconds.

The truck has a top speed of 118 mph (190 km/h), can tow up to 8,100 lbs. (3,674 kg) and has a maximum payload capacity of 1,310 lbs. (594 kg).

To cool the engine as it makes all that power, Ram uses a functional hood scoop that lets in fully half of the air that enters the engine, with the other 50% coming through the grille. Ram says the truck uses the largest air filter in the segment to keep things clean, with “four times the dust trapping capacity when compared to the closest competitor.” If it's more wet than dusty out, the ’21 Ram TRX can ford through up to 32 ins. (81 cm) of water. 

Visually, the Ram TRX embodies an aggressive personality. The front and rear wheel wells stick out from what the company hypes as an “impossibly wide” body. The body is, in fact, possible. It's just 8 ins. (203 mm) wider than other Ram 1500 models. The width also is necessary to protect the 35-in. Goodyear Wrangler Territory 325/65/R18 all-terrain tires that are themselves 9 ins. (230 mm) wide and designed specifically for the TRX. The tires use 18-in. wheels.

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The new Ram 1500 TRX gets a unique front grille and, surprise, the Ram badge on it is bigger than other Ram 1500 trucks. The front end also features premium LED headlamps and twin bi-functional projector headlamps as standard. 

Inside, Ram is making sure the TRX gets all sorts of performance-enhancing touches (interior pictured above), as well as safety features such as a ParkView rear backup camera with dynamic grid lines and electronic stability control.

More driver-friendly options like blindspot monitoring and adaptive cruise control are available only as options. Three equipment group packages (TRX, TR1 and TR2) give buyers plenty of options when it comes to the leather or suede materials and different stitching styles. 

Four drive modes are available – normal, wet/snow, off-road and baja – and a launch control button is standard. The drive modes, as well as information about the truck's off-road performance, can be viewed on the 12-in. (30-cm) Uconnect 4C touchscreen. The TRX also gets the first console and paddle shifters in a Ram truck. 

Whether all of this, and the rest of the details Ram already has announced and more that will trickle out as the TRX (pictured below) gets closer to launch (including pricing and fuel-economy numbers), is enough to give Ford a run for the money will be a fun game to watch.

But Ram knows that if there’s any dinosaur that can take on a Raptor, it's the Tyrannosaurus Rex, aka TRX. Game on.

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