There are many entertaining rivalries in the automotive industry. Enthusiasts are more than familiar with former competitions like the one between the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru Impreza STI. Now in a contrasting world with a dominating performance trucks market, it seems the 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R will be keeping its playmate, the Ram 1500 TRX.
These are undoubtedly two of the most beloved sport pickup trucks in their market. Ford's F-150 is one of the best-selling vehicles in the entire world and the SVT F-150s helped pioneer the performance truck genre consumers indulge in today. The Ram series of pickups also enjoys its own popularity, and its TRX follows in the formulaic footsteps of Ford.
Now, automotive YouTuber StangMode invites fans to see the latest versions of these performance trucks face off in a proper drag race.
Launching The 2023 Ford Raptor R And Ram TRX From Cold Start
StangMode begins with three drag races from a cold start launch. The first run sets the stage for what these trucks are really capable of. The TRX's 6.2-liter V8 has 2 hp more than the 700 hp of the Raptor R's 5.2-liter supercharged V8. Unsurprisingly, both trucks remain neck and neck. The Raptor R only wins by several inches, and the TRX never falls far behind.
The middle race of the video is more inconclusive. StangMode left the advanced track setting on in the Raptor R. This handicapped his launch and allowed the TRX to speed off. Yet, it's in the last cold start launch that the Raptor R takes the lead by another small margin and wins again.
The Performance Truck Rolling Drag Races
A drag race video wouldn't be complete without a rolling start. StangMode performs two because he wasn't ready during the first rolling race. In the final face-off, the Raptor R takes the lead by another small margin. Yet, he concludes an overall tie because of how close these two performance trucks are in straight-line speed. While the Raptor R was victorious in 3 out of 5 races, its margin of victory is so small that it's still difficult to determine which truck is truly better.
The new Ford Raptor R may have a smaller supercharged engine but that proves to be more advantageous. That extra performance does come at a cost since the 2023 Ford Raptor R's MSRP is $109,145. Meanwhile, the 2023 Ram TRX starts at $84,555. But the larger engine is less economical and fails to surpass the Ford during a proper drag race. It may seem that Ford has the upper hand at the expense of consumers' wallets. Yet, StangMode further emphasizes how tied these trucks remain.
Whether you're a fan of the Ram TRX or the Ford Raptor R, it's great to see that both automakers are still making high-performance pickup trucks with massively powerful supercharged V8 engines.