The Dodge Ram SRT10 was a legendary muscle truck with a Viper V10 engine built for massive acceleration on the street. And now, it looks like Ram is building a new supertruck a lot like it, maybe even powered by a Hellcat engine.
Is Ram replacing the TRX?
The Ram 1500 TRX is a desert-racing truck powered by a supercharged Hellcat engine. It is the brand’s flagship and likely isn’t going away anytime soon. But it may have a street-racing sibling on the way.
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For the 2022 model year, the closest thing to a street-racing SRT truck that Ram offers is the Ram 1500 Laramie G/T. The G/T package adds several TRX-like touches to the Laramie including a leather-wrapped floor console shifter and paddle shifters behind its leather-wrapped steering wheel. While it has a cold air intake and performance exhaust system, it still has the 5.7-liter HEMI engine, not a Hellcat.
When Ram trucks was a subdivision of Dodge, the muscle-mined company developed many street-racing trucks. Now, Ram trucks is a sister brand of Dodge–with both badges owned by Stellantis. What’s more, Stellantis dissolved the old Street and Racing Technology (SRT) team shortly after it came up with the Ram 1500 TRX.
It seemed nearly impossible that we would get a new Ram muscle truck. Even Ram told Motor1 that a street-racing truck wasn’t happening. But it seems the brand was misleading us.
Is Ram building a new muscle truck?
Ram is testing multiple camouflaged 1500 muscle trucks. The lightweight vehicles in spy shots feature an unprecedented quad-cab and short bed combo. Bars bracing the bed to the cab signal some new high-torque powertrain. And its racing tires are wrapped around Dodge Ram SRT10 rims.
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So what the Hellcat is going on here? Obviously, Ram is building some kind of gnarly street-racing truck. A few details of the test truck, spied by Motor1, make it clear that Ram is pulling out all the stops.
Firstly, Ram does not currently offer a quad-cab, short bed configuration. But this lightweight layout would be ideal for a quick muscle truck. Secondly, this truck also appears to be lowered. And finally, eagle-eyed Ram fans have even noticed what appears to be independent rear suspension on the test trucks.
These test trucks are riding on street-designed tires so they are certainly not a next-generation TRX. And the choice of SRT10 rims is intriguing. Is Stellantis bringing back the SRT division? Or will it be using the SRT badge for its new muscle truck?
Last but not least, the test trucks have braces connecting the bed and the cab. This could, possibly, be a production feature. Or more likely, engineers have braced up the new configuration to see how it handles the torque of a powerful engine. Is this engine the SRT-engineered 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat?
The last gasp of the HEMI V8
Stellantis recently unveiled its HEMI replacement, a 3.0-liter Hurricane I6. Dodge also will do away with its current V8 drivetrains in favor of “eMuscle” by 2024. But Dodge CEO promised he would be “feeding the beast” for the next two years with various special editions.
Is the new Ram 1500 SRT muscle-truck one of these final V8-powered special editions? Or is it a showcase of some entirely new drivetrain, perhaps the Hurricane high output engine? Only time will tell.
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