RAPTOR R TAKES ON TRX

MUSCLE CAR ENGINES AND TROPHY TRUCK SUSPENSIONS SQUARE OFF ON THE DRAGSTRIP, ON THE ROAD, AND IN THE DIRT

- ERIC TINGWALL

No matter which side you root for in the great 700-hp pickup throwdown of 2023, you have to hand it to the other team. If Ford and Ram hadn’t goaded each other into building increasingly ludicrous trucks, there wouldn’t be any 700-hp, dune-jumping pickups at all. The way we see it, without the original 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor there is no Ram 1500 TRX, and without the TRX there is no Ford F-150 Raptor R.

It’s a classic case of competition improving the breed. After 13 years of escalating stakes as Ford and Ram antagonized each other (with Chevy seemingly prepared to drop its own wild concoction into the fray soon: page 72), the humble pickup has evolved into a street-legal sandrail with sport sedan acceleration.

Such a specific and unique mission doesn’t leave much room for creative interpretation, apparently, because the TRX and Raptor R are conceptually identical. Both trucks use supercharged V-8s, with the Ram making 702 horsepower to the Ford’s 700. Both trucks bound over desert washes and crawl up boulder-strewn trails with 13 and 14 inches of front and rear suspension travel. And both trucks in this test cost six figures. There’s a $22,895 chasm between the TRX’s $86,250 starting price and the Raptor R’s $109,145 entry point, but Ram closed that gap by delivering a $105,145 truck for this comparison. Those extra options make for a more luxurious and more livable TRX without altering its performance or the driving experience.