The pick-up truck was designed by Henry Ford back in the 20’s with the intention to do just that, pick up loads and transport them to their destination. Trucks back then were very rugged as they were built strictly for durability. Almost a century later, durability is still a major factor when it comes to building and owning a truck, only now they must also be comfortable, high-tech and powerful. And while the pick-up is still used mostly for work, but with a faster truck you can just get some of your work done faster.
Having a lot of horsepower is usually the name of the game when it comes to going fast, but having a lot of torque is the actual proof in the pudding. While most pickup trucks are purchased with work as the intention, some are purchased because of their vanity or even performance. Why not have it all if it was an option.
While most of the vehicles have massive eight-cylinder engines, some of the fastest trucks on the list are actually power by six-cylinder engines, with forced induction that it. Here are 20 trucks that can put down a zero-to-sixty in eight seconds or less. We have listed them slowest to quickest.
20 Dodge Rebel ( 7.7 Seconds)
In 2016, Ram branched out and became recognized as its own brand with the Ram Rebel. The Rebel was built to beat anything on the off-road circuit, coming equipped with an air-ride suspension, Bilstein shocks and a higher suspension clearance.
According to Truck Trend, the Rebel comes standard with a 5.7-liter Hemi that was good for 395 hp and 410 lb/ft of torque, getting to sixty in 7.7 seconds.
That is incredible for a truck of this size, and even more impressive considering its designed for off--road performance.
19 Chevy Colorado Z71 (7.1 Seconds)
The Colorado is a mid-sized pickup made by Chevy, and one of the few trucks to make the list with a V6. Just because it has a six-cylinder doesn’t mean the Colorado can’t keep up with the V8s. According to Car and Driver the 3.6-liter V6 can produce 308 hp at 6,800 rpm and 275 lb/ft of torque at 4000 rpm. The little V6 can do zero-to-sixy in 7.1 seconds, and a quarter mile in 15.6 seconds. Not bad for a six-cylinder engine a bigger vehicle designed to pull loads, not outrun most cars.
18 Chevy C1500 SS (7.1 Seconds)
Introduced to the world almost three decades ago was the Chevy C1500 454 SS. In true unicorn fashion, the 454 SS came uniformed in one fashion black with a red interior.
According to Motor Trend, the SS had a massive 7.4-liter engine that made 230 hp and a still impressive 385 lb/ft of torque at just 1600 rpm.
The 454 could do zero-to-sixty in 7.1 seconds which was even more impressive all the way back in 1993. This truck is now a sought after collectors item and is still a very fun ride to this day.
17 Saleen S331 Sport Truck (6.7 Seconds)
The Saleen S331 made its debut to the world in 2007, which was based off the Ford F-150. In its first year, Saleen offered two engine options for the S331, but decided to drop the naturally aspirated choice the following year. According to Motor Trend, the supercharged 5.4-liter engine can churn out in impressive 450 hp at 5200 rpm and 500 rpm at 4000 rpm. All that power made for unimpressive track numbers; the Saleen needed 15 seconds to complete a quarter mile, getting to sixty in a sluggish 6.7 seconds.
16 Harley Davison F150 (6.4 Seconds)
The first collaboration between Harley Davidson and Ford happened back in 2000, when the F-150 Harley Davidson Edition was first born. According to Motor Trend, it was the first Ford vehicle to receive 20-inch rim, in addition to the lightnings exhaust and a lowered suspension.
The Harley Davidson edition may have looked and sounded fast, but the 5.4-liter was a bit underpowered making just 260 hp.
The Harley Davidson eventually got the power is deserved, getting a 6.2-liter V8 that was good for 411hp and 434 lb/ft of torque and could do zero-to-sixty in 6.4 seconds.
15 Nissan Titan (6.4 Seconds)
Nissan has been known for making reliable cars for decades, but just broke into the full sized truck world less than 15 years ago. While Nissan may be not recognized as much as its American competitors like Dodge, Ford and GM in the full-sized truck world, its slowly being accepted by more consumers. There’s one thing you can bet on, and it’s that the Titan can keep up. According to Car and Driver, the Titan can get to sixty in 6.4 seconds, completing a quarter mile in 15.2 seconds.
14 Chevy Silverado SS (6.3 Seconds)
Chevy decided to give the SS another shot in 2003, now as a special edition of the Silverado. The SS came fashioned with a similar sport grill to the 1993 454 SS, in addition to a lowered suspension and 20-inch rims. According to Auto Trader, the SS came equipped with a 6.0-liter V8 that was good for 345 hp and 380 lb/ft of torque, that could get the SS to sixty in 6.3 seconds. Those are great number, and while the pickup may not have been perfect for doing big work, it was definitely a fun ride that . offered a conveniently sized pickup bed for towing some decent loads.
13 Ford F-150 (5.9 Seconds)
Ford has made countless improvements throughout the years on their F-150; which comes in a plethora of different variations and constant special editions which we will see a few of later this list. In 2017 they introduced their all new 10-speed automatic engine, making already their already faster vehicles faster.
The F-150 with a 5.0-liter V8 can get a quarter mile done in 14.4 seconds, getting to sixty in 5.9.
But what’s really impressive is that according to Motor Trend, the Eco-Boost’s twin turbo V6 finishes just a hair behind the V8 with a zero-to-sixty time in 6.1 seconds.
12 Ford Tremor (5.8 Seconds)
Another six cylinder to make the list the Ford Tremor, which is actually considered an EcoBoost. The Tremor, part of Fords SVT team (Special Vehicle Team), packs a serious punch in a small little package under the hood; a twin turbocharged 3.5-liter engine that can churn out 365 hp and 420 lb/ft of torque. According to Motor Trend, this makes the Tremor capable of doing zero-to-sixty in just 5.8 seconds, getting a quarter mile done in 14.3 seconds. That should make anyone who takes this on in a race get some tremors of their own.
11 GMC Sierra Denali (5.8 Seconds)
Next on the list of quick pickups in the GMC Sierra Denali. Denali being the luxury line of GMC vehicles, proves that you can have both luxury and performance when it comes to a pickup truck. The Sierra comes with a 6.2-liter engine than can put out 420 hp and 460 lb/ft of torque, making it capable of doing zero-to-sixty in 5.8 seconds. When something looks this good, is that big, and is that fast, it definitely has to be worth the asking price. This is a great pickup across the board.
10 Chevy Silverado 1500 (5.7 Seconds)
The Silverado made its debut to the world back in 1999, and since then Chevy has mad countless improvements; already its third generation. The High Country being the top of the line trim package available.
According to Car and Driver, the biggest engine option a customer can get is the 6.2-liter V8.
The 6.2 liter engine is capable of making 420 hp and 460 lb/ft of torque making it capable of doing a quarter mile in 14.3 seconds and doing zero-to-sixty in 5.7.
9 Foose F150 (5.6 Seconds)
A collaboration between Ford, Chip Foose and CdCarbon took place back in 2008. They combined their expertise and designed the Ford F-150 Foose Edition. The Foose F150 was limited to just 1500 trucks, they come fashioned with a custom body kit and 22-inch rims. At the time, the Foose edition was the fastest half-ton you could buy. According to Tuner Road Test, the Foose F150 could get to sixty miles per hour in just 5.6 seconds, with a quarter mile time of 14.2.
8 Dodge Ram R/T (5.4 seconds)
The last thing you might consider doing with your pick-up if take it to the track, but you might think again after driving the Dodge 1500 R/T. The R/T’s 5.7-liter Hemi can produce 395 hp and 410 lb/ft of torque. According to Car and Driver, despite weighting over 5000 pounds, the R/T could get to sixty miles per hour in just 5.4 seconds, putting down a quarter mile in 14.1 seconds. This is living proof that a big machine, when given the right engine, can do just about anything.
7 GMC Syclone (5.3 Seconds)
The GMC Syclone, a unicorn that was produced for just short year in 1993. They all came uniformed with a black on black appearance and a grand national engine. According to Motor Trend, the turbocharged 4.3-liter engine that made 450 hp at 5200 rpm and 500 rpm at 4000 rpm.
The Syclone was capable of a still impressive zero-to-60 time of 5.3 seconds and that was over 25 years ago.
It would be interesting to see what GMC could do with today's technology on the same kind of truck frame. Perhaps they could revive this truck for the speed enthusiasts out there.
6 Ford Lightning (5.2 Seconds)
The Ford Lightning made two appearances back in the 90’s; the first time being subpar and the second is still sought after today. The Ford Lightning was a supped-up version of the F-150; part of the SVT family or the Special Vehicle Team. According to Car and Driver, the supercharged 5.4-liter engine was capable of making 380 hp at 450 lb/ft of torque, both rated at 4,750 rpm. The lightning can get a quarter mile done in 13.8 seconds; getting to sixty in just 5.2.
5 Ford Raptor (5.1 Seconds)
Back in 2009 Ford released another member of their SVT family calling it the Raptor. The Raptor, based off the F-150, was an ultimate off-road truck and is another quick little six-cylinder to make the list. The twin turbocharged 3.5-liter paired with Ford’s 10-speed transmission can make an incredible 450 hp and 510 lb/ft of torque. According to Car and Driver, the Raptor can dash to sixty in just 5.1 seconds, getting a quart mile in just 13.8 seconds.
4 Tesla Model U (5.0 Seconds)
You heard us correctly, Tesla will be breaking into the world of pickup trucks. There isn’t an official announcement for the debut of Tesla’s all new pickup that will be known as Model U. Truck Trend was a bit vague on the details as the truck isn’t even available yet, but they said to expect numbers in the torque and hp department to be in the 600 range, and being able to do zero-to-sixty in five seconds flat. That is definitely the type of thing we would expect to hear from a guy like Elon Musk, who always seems to push the limits of technology.
3 Dodge Ram SRT10 (4.9 Seconds)
Back in 2004, Dodge decided to see what happened when they stuck one of their Viper engines in a Ram 1500 and when the SRT10 was born. The massive 8.3-liter V10 could churn out 500hp and 525 lb/ft of torque.
The SRT10 was available in both regular and quad cab, with the regular cab being significantly faster.
According to Car and Driver, the Quad cab could do zero-to-sixty in 5.6 seconds, and a quarter mile in 14.2. The regular cab was able to shave a few seconds off both doing a quarter mile in 13.6. while getting to sixty in just 4.9.
2 Hennessey VelociRaptor (4.2 Seconds)
Hennessey is a performance company based out of Texas that make limited batches of their supped-up versions of factory produced vehicles . In this case, Hennessey took the already awesome Ford Raptor and made it even more awesome. According to Hennessey, they made all around modifications to the Raptor’s twin turbo kit; doing so bulked the Raptors already numbers up to 600 hp and 622 lb/ft of torque. Now calling it the Velociraptor; it has the ability to do zero-to-sixty in just 4.2 seconds.
1 Roush Nitemare F-150 (4.2 Seconds)
Back in 2007 there was a unicorn that was produced by the name of the Roush Nitemare F150. According to Top Speed, the Nitemare was limited batch of just 100 trucks. The 5.4-liter equipped with the Roush supercharger could make 445 hp and 500 lb/ft of torque. According to Motor Authority, an updated version of the truck came out in 2017, now with a supercharged 5.0-liter that puts down 600 hp and 557 lb/ft of torque, making it capable of doing zero-to-sixty in just 4.2 seconds.
Sources: CarAndDriver.com, MotorTrend, TruckTrend.com, MotorAuthority.com, Hennessey.com