Many carmakers offer a wide range of vehicle products. Doing so allows them to cater to a more diverse customer base. Carmakers are hoping this would result in more sales and more revenues. This is the reason why Ford also offers other models other than its best-selling F-Series.
Carmakers, however, find themselves competing against rivals with similar offerings. Hence, the Ford F-150 isn’t the only pickup truck available in the US. Other pickup models have come to rival the Ford truck. For instance, General Motors has the Chevrolet Silverado, while Stellantis has the Ram Trucks.
The F-Series, Silverado and Ram Trucks are the top 3 best-selling pickup truck, with the Ford model lording US sales at more than 640,000 units in 2022. At far second is the Chevy truck at 520,900 units. The Silverado overtook Ram’s pickups, which sales dropped 17.75% to 468,000 units. The rivalry between these trucks will be more intense this year.
Nevertheless, there is a specific truck rivalry that people to pay attention to simply because it matters. This is the rivalry between the Ram 1500 TRX and the Ford F-150 Raptor R.
Ram 1500 TRX Made The F-150 Raptor Look Weak
It is quite easy to see why the Ram TRX and the F-150 Raptor R are rivals. Both are super-pickup trucks with immense off-road capabilities. Nevertheless, the rivalry has yet to fully materialize, since the F-150 Raptor R has barely arrived for its owners. Ford started production of the F-150 Raptor R in late 2022.
But before the TRX and the F-150 Raptor R arrived in the market, the F-150 Raptor was already rampaging. The Raptor nameplate isn’t exclusive to the F-150. Ford has been using the nameplate to refer to its high-performance pickup trucks and SUVs. The F-150 Raptor offers 450 hp of max output and 510 lb-ft of peak torque from its twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine. For years, it defined high-powered off-road capability.
Nonetheless, the F-150 Raptor looked pale when the Ram introduced the TRX. The TRX essentially devoured the F-150 Raptor in terms of power. It was too powerful and too quick for a pickup truck. Its Hellcat V8 engine can deliver 702 hp of max output and 650 hp of peak torque. This amount of power allows the TRX to zoom from nil to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds.
Combined with insane levels of power and off-road capability, the TRX shamed the F-150 Raptor. It’s no wonder it sits on top of the full-size pickup truck segment.
Ford Responds To TRX With New Ford Raptor R
Stellantis didn’t build a pickup truck that would rival the F-150 Raptor. Instead, it built a pickup truck that the F-150 Raptor cannot compete with. Unless the adrenaline-loving customer is an F-Series fan, they would prefer buying a Ram TRX. Since Stellantis has the base truck, the Hellcat engine, and the 4x4 expertise, there is no reason not to create the TRX.
But Ford wouldn’t let the TRX to continuously undermine its beloved F-150 Raptor. The carmaker has the pride of the best-selling pickup truck on the line with the new F-150 Raptor R; it simply has to respond. If Stellantis was able to shoehorn a muscle car engine into the TRX, Ford just needs to dig into its plethora of powerful engines to match the Ram truck.
Thus, Ford developed a new V8 engine that traces its roots from the Predator engine of the Shelby GT500 Mustang. It adapted the V8 mill for pickup truck use by shifting down the torque curve with the use of a smaller supercharger pulley. As a result, the powerplant can generate 700 hp of max output and 640 lb-ft of peak torque at just 4,250 rpm.
Rivalry Matters As It Pushes Carmakers To Boundaries
The Ford F-150 Raptor R is a bit less powerful than the TRX. Instead of focusing on power and quickness, Ford concentrated on developing a truck that could conquer brutal off-road environments with outstanding capability. It has better off-road specs, with better payload and towing capacities.
Ford is essentially saying the F-150 Raptor has greater off-road speed and performance than the TRX. Meanwhile, the TRX has the advantage on the 0-60-mph sprint and on a drag race in paved roads. This is a rivalry of different spectrums, but it matters particularly for those who wanted to prove which extreme truck is better.
This rivalry also matters as it signifies the willingness of both carmakers to push boundaries. Stellantis broke the boundary first with the TRX. Seeing the success of the TRX, Ford followed and created the F-150 Raptor R, albeit in a quite different approach. Stellantis and Ford may try to outdo each in this rivalry by taking their trucks to further extremes.
Moreover, the rivalry matters because it means Ford is reiterating its commitment not to abandon its internal combustion engines. It also matters since it may prompt Stellantis not to fully give up on its Hellcat engine just yet, until it achieves an all-electric lineup by 2030.
Source: Ford, Stellantis