The Ram TRX Is Back With 777bhp, And It’s Out For Raptor Blood Again

The Ford F-150 Raptor stopped having all the ridiculous dune-conquering high-performance pickup truck fun to itself when the Ram 1500 TXR arrived on the scene in late 2020. Boasting Dodge’s 6.2-litre, 702bhp supercharged V8, it was nothing if not spectacular, but its time was short – the truck was discontinued in early 2024 amid Stellantis’ plans to drop its Hemi V8 engines. It gained something of a spiritual successor in the form of the straight-six powered RHO, but it wasn’t really the same.

Things have quickly changed, though: American truck buyers have made it clear they want V8s, leading to the Hemi returning to the Ram after a brief absence, and now, less than two years after it disappeared, the TRX is back too, as the first of a wave of new models from the revived SRT performance brand.

Not only that, but it’s gained even more power. Quite a lot more, in fact. Clearly not happy that the 721bhp Ford F-150 Raptor R had stolen the TRX’s thunder while it was away, Ram has turned up the wick on the V8 to 777bhp. Torque is up to 680lb ft, too, 40lb ft more than the Raptor R.

Still driving all four wheels through the same eight-speed automatic, this near-three-tonne stack of prime American beef will nevertheless rocket off to 60mph in a quoted 3.5 seconds. Top speed is quite sensibly limited to 118mph.

As before, it’s designed to do these kinds of numbers pretty much anywhere, which is why it also gets massive 35-inch tyres and a set of Bilstein Black Hawk e2 remote reservoir dampers. An Active Terrain Dynamics system automatically alters their rebound and compression rates on the fly depending on speed and terrain. For lower-speed off-road situations, there’s a new low-range setting for the TRX’s transfer case, and there’s the usual suite of off-road drive modes too.

Inside, it’s largely the same as before, with a massive 14.5-inch infotainment display, but the TRX gets a new bank of physical multifunction switches beneath it as well as some otherwise-redundant physical climate controls designed to be operated when wearing gloves.

Arriving in US dealerships in the second half of this year, pricing for the reborn TRX kicks off at $99,995 (around £74,250) before destination charges. As well as the standard truck, a limited Bloodshot Night Edition (no, really, that’s what it’s called) helps welcome back the TRX with a two-tone red and black paint job and some rather ’90s splash graphics down the side. If this is how Stellantis is choosing to give the SRT brand a shot in the arm, then consider us intrigued about what comes next.