For most of us, many factors go into buying a truck. Brand loyalty is a big thing and is often formed with past experiences. The looks of the vehicle matter too because no one wants to put down part of their life savings for an ugly, laughable truck, even if it hauls good and comes with enough power. Performance, power, fuel economy, and many other factors alter our decisions, as does the rating of the truck when it comes to safety.
But for some, the V8 is all that matters... And it's not as if they are wrong in their assumption because most of the V8 trucks around are power-packed rockets that can go anywhere, do anything, and haul far more than expected.
Some of these are stock, while many go all out and empty their banks on their quest to find or make the world’s perfect V8 truck. Don’t believe us? Here’s a list of 15 unstoppable V8 pickups that can appease even the most virulent needs for speed! Muscle cars, please step aside.
15 The 2020 Hennessey VelociRaptor V8
If you have almost $150,000 lying about as spare change and want a Ford F-Series with a V8, here’s your dream pickup. With a 0-60mph sprint of 4.1 seconds, it can go head-to-head with a Supra. It’s a 2019 F-150 Raptor with a 5.9-liter Ford V8 and tons of Hennessey Performance parts to take it off the grid, in a good way. Oh, and The Rock has one.
14 2020 Ford F-Series Super Duty Tremor
If you like your F-Series to be Super Duty, then the Raptor may not cut it for you. How about the Ford F-Series Super Duty Tremor that can not only do what all Super Duties do but also go far above the call of duty, armed with Ford’s new 7.3-liter gasoline V8 with 430 horses and 475 pound-feet of torque?
13 2009 Toyota Tundra TRD
In 2009, The Toyota Tundra went where no truck had gone before. Or rather, it went as fast as no truck had gone before with a supercharged 5.7-liter V8 that made 381 horses and 550 lb-ft of torque. Dubbed the Toyota Tundra TRD, it sprinted 0-60 mph in a whoppingly cool 4.7 seconds - astonishing for a full-size pickup.
12 2019 RAM 1500 Tradesman
RAM has overtaken Chevy trucks, and with the kind of engines and advancements it is coming with, the Ford F-Series should be very wary of its competitor. The 2019 Ram 1500 Tradesman comes with an eTorque 5.7-liter HEMI V8, which is a hybrid performance mill that gives an additional 130 ft-lb torque because of the electric motor. Plus, fuel economy becomes that much better.
11 2019 Roush Ford F-150 SC
Roush does amazing Mustangs, so there is no reason why it cannot do an awesomely tuned F-150, right? Right, so here's the 2019 Roush Ford F-150 SC which is supercharged and somewhat super priced as well. But $91,000 for 650 horsepower and 610 lb-ft of torque ultimately simply means “a lot of money, for a lot of truck”!
10 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 All Terrain X
GM may have taken a hit for its Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, but the Chevy Silverado and its mechanical twin, the GMC Sierra are doing fine. The 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 All Terrain X came with a 420-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac maximum traction tires to make it go anywhere.
9 2018 Nissan Titan
The Nissan Titan has been generating rave reviews, even though its sales are more niche than what the Ford F-Series does. With a very potent 390 horsepower V8, the Nissan Titan gives its all at the press of the accelerator. If you take the crew cab PRO-4X model with high-performance shocks and all-terrain tires, this Titan will go just about wherever you point it towards, with ease.
8 2004 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning
Yes, faster trucks have been made, of course, but at the time, the 2004 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning was the first pickup to break 100mph in the quarter-mile. A top speed of 102mph made it cross the mark in 13.6 seconds, powered by a 5.4-liter V8 that made 380 horses and 450 ft-lb torque. The 0-60mph run was a zappy 5.1 seconds.
7 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71
Chevy’s answer to the GMC Sierra 1500 All Terrain X, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71 came with a standard V6 but could be upgraded to a lean and mean 355-horsepower 5.7-liter V8 or the massive 420-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 for an amazing performance. Several special-edition packages were also offered on top of this to make this potent Silverado look as beastly as you want.
6 2016 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
You can love a truck for many things, and for us, just the very throaty growl of the 2016 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro is enough for us to want one. Badly! Its 5.7-liter V8 offers 381 horses and 401 lb-ft of torque with a lifted suspension that comes in with the help of 2.5" diameter Bilstein remote reservoir shocks. Way cool.
5 2009 Dodge Ram R/T
Back when RAM was Dodge Ram, the R/T performance truck was the fastest truck on the road. A single-cab truck, the Dodge Ram R/T came with a 390-horsepower 5.7-liter HEMI V8, good for 407 lb-ft of torque. A 0-60mph sprint was a cool 5.7 seconds while a quarter-mile run was 14.4 seconds, at 93.4-mph speeds.
4 2003 Ford F-150 Harley Davidson
Before the Dodge Ram R/T, in 2003, there was the Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson Limited Edition that not only sprinted 0-60 mph in 6 seconds but also got the fastest quarter-mile run of 14.3 seconds at a speed of 96.3 mph. The power came from supercharged 5.4-liter V8 that thrashed out 340 horses and 425 lb-ft of torque.
3 2014 Chevrolet Silverado High Country
Before the 2018 versions of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, they launched the Chevrolet Silverado High Country in 2014. This, too, bore GM’s powerful 6.2-liter V8 that made 420 horses and 460 lb-ft of torque, managing a 0-60 mph sprint in 6 seconds and a quarter-mile run in 14.6 seconds, at 96.6 mph.
2 2016 GMC Sierra Denali 4x4
In 2016, GMC came forward with the high-luxury Sierra Denali, carrying the same GM 6.2-liter V8 power mill but with plenty of accouterments to appease even the brattiest of demands from a truck. Also, the Sierra Denali was quicker, with a 0-60 mph run of 5.8 seconds and a quarter-mile sprint of 14.2 seconds, at 97.1 mph.
1 1978 Dodge Lil’ Red Express
Before the GMC Syclone and the Ram R/T10, there was the Dodge Lil’ Red Express, and it came way back in 1978. For a little while, this was not only America’s fastest truck but also America’s fastest car, with a 3.6-liter quad-barrel small-block V8 that pushed out 225 horses and 295 lb-ft of torque. The power came from a loophole that let this truck be released without any catalytic convertors at a time all muscle cars had turned into asthmatic geriatrics.