RAM 1500 TRX is fastest tow vehicle in the park
Supercharged V8 pick-up can hit 100km/h in 4.5 seconds and tow 3.6 tonnesThe 2021 RAM 1500 TRX has officially emerged as the fastest, most powerful full-size pick-up ever built, while also being capable of towing a caravan weighing up to 3674kg. What's more, it's a good chance to be launched in Australia in mid-2021.
Created to rival the Ford F-150 Raptor (which can tow just 2500kg down under) the RAM 1500 TRX is powered by the same supercharged 6.2-litre V8 as the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and, like the American muscle car, musters an incredible 522kW of power and 868Nm of torque.
Paired with an eight-speed automatic and four-wheel drive, the blown V8 pick-up is claimed to hit 60mph (97km/h) in just 4.5 seconds and top out at a limited 190km/h.
That makes it 1.5 seconds quicker to 60mph than the Ford F-150 Raptor, which is also limited to only 172km/h.
As well as being fast in a straight line, the RAM 1500 TRX has also been developed to beat the Raptor off-road, with a huge list of updates over the standard DT-series RAM 1500 truck on which it's based.
Among the most noticeable upgrades are the wider front and rear fenders, which see the 1500 TRX measure a hefty 203mm broader than the normal 1500.
The width is needed to help house ultra-wide 18-inch wheels and special Goodyear 35-inch all-terrain tyres that were developed just for the TRX.
To cope with the dirt and dust generated at high speed off-road, the RAM TRX gets a high-level bonnet scoop that works with a lower ram-air grille intake. The intake paths are said to feed into a U-turn that causes dust and debris to fall out before it reaches the cold-ar filter.
RAM TRX drivers are offered the option of Sport, Tow, Snow, Auto, Custom, Mud/Sand, Rock and full-beans Baja modes. There’s even a launch control function alongside the usual hill-decent and traction control systems.
At the rear there’s a manually locking Dana 60 axle, but no locking front differential. Instead, the TRX uses the brakes to manage torque.
In Baja mode, the all-wheel drive, steering and stability control systems are pre-armed for flat-out desert driving. There’s even a jump detection set-up that prevents the engine from over-revving when all four wheels part company with planet Earth.
Reigning in all its power, RAM has fitted huge 381mm front brake discs clamped by two-piston monobloc calipers.
To ensure its separate ladder frame can cope with all the abuse likely to be inflicted by fast off-road driving, engineers claim to have made chassis changes so significant that 74 per cent of it is new.
These include increased metal gauge thickness and strengthened mounting points around the suspension.
New forged aluminium front lower control arms and high-strength steel upper arms have widened the front and rear tracks by 150mm, while longer springs provide 40 per cent more wheel travel than the standard truck and give it class-leading axle articulation.
Riding around 51mm higher than the standard RAM 1500, the TRX offers around 300mm ground clearance.
At speed, new Bilstein Blackhawk E2 active dampers balance maximum off-road compliance with on-road body control, say engineers. The result, RAM claims, is the fastest truck both on and off the road.
Inside, the RAM 1500 TRX gets SRT-style sport seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, red start-stop button, unique instrument graphics and a 19-speaker premium sound system.
Apart from its US-spec 8100lbs (3674kg) tow rating and 1310lbs (594kg) payload, the RAM 1500 TRX pick-up also comes with a new Land Rover-style Trailer Reverse Control system that allows the trailer to be steered with a dial while reversing.
In the US, the RAM 1500 TRX has been priced from just $US71,690 ($A99,500), but expect to pay significantly more than that when the world's wildest factory pick-up arrives in Australia next year.
That's because independent importers like Brisbane's SCD American Vehicles and official distributor RAM Trucks Australia, which employs Walkinshaw Automotive for its local conversion and development work, will charge a healthy premium for their extensive right-hand drive 'remanufacturing' work.
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