Battle of the Two Brand Families
TRX vs. Raptor
Under the airbox cover of the all-new 2021 Ram 1500 TRX is a graphic displaying a Tyrannosaurus Rex overwhelming a Velociraptor and a size comparison of the two dinosaurs in the TRX’s center console, challenging the Ford F-150 Raptor in a not-so-subtle way. Ram says the TRX is designed bolt by bolt to significantly outperform every other truck straight from the factory and will cement Ram as North America’s off-road truck leader. The Ram 1500 TRX has been tested to handle the most punishing conditions with extreme durability. Class-leading, uncompromising performance in the harshest environments is achieved in part through the same engine powering its Dodge cousins of the SRT Hellcat family—the supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® V-8 engine. Stratospheric power gives TRX 702 horsepower and delivers a new level of performance: 0-60 miles per hour (mph) in 4.5 seconds, the quarter mile in 12.9 seconds at 108 mph and a top speed 118 mph.
Muscle Car Match-Up
Ford won’t take Ram’s challenge lying down. A redesigned 2022 Ford F-150 Raptor R is anticipated to be equipped with a version of the Predator V-8 that powers the 760-hp Mustang Shelby GT500, a vehicle that the Savvy Driver recently had the pleasure of testing at Texas Motor Speedway. Put 760 horses of supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 under the hood of a vehicle with the athleticism of a smaller and lighter sports car and you get the most powerful production car Ford has ever built. The rear-wheel-drive coupe enters the racetrack with attitude, sporting the Cobra snake badge and a Carbon Fiber Handling Package that includes 20-inch carbon-fiber wheels and adjustable strut-top mounts, it emits a snarl though the exhaust pipes as it accelerates zero to 60 in 3.4 seconds.
Sporting the same V8 engine as the Ram TRX, Dodge confidently roars up to any starting line with its drag-strip dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock. But Dodge also makes muscle cars for the whole family with the new 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world, and the new 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever. Combined, these three muscle cars make Dodge the industry’s most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other American brand across its entire lineup.
Banter on social media shows how closely Ford and Stellantis (the parent company of Ram and Dodge) are watching each other. As full-size pickup trucks make up an ever greater percentage of a company’s sales and the disappearance of other types of coupes and sedans vault supercharged muscle cars to the forefront, the competition is good and never-ceasing as our domestic automakers contend for market share.
