Ford F-150 Raptor vs Ram 1500 TRX: A Battle Played out in Numbers – For Now

How does the new 2021 Ram 1500 TRX compare to the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, instigator of the arms race in this very, very profitable sub-category for car manufacturers? We size up the two monsters.

The comparison is inevitable: Once the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX was revealed this past week, all off-road truck enthusiasts wanted to know was how the new player measures up to the instigator of the sub-category, the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, the one that turned everything upside down in 2010 with its enlarged body, unique suspension and unmatched off-road capabilities.

If you're wondering why there's been such an explosion of "rugged"-looking vehicles, it's largely because of the Raptor. For the past 10 years, special versions of pickup trucks have been multiplying like big monstrous rabbits. Think of the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, Ram 1500 Rebel, Toyota's TRD Pro line, GMC's AT4 line, not to mention the Jeep Gladiator, which entered the mid-size pickup truck niche last year.

And yet, the F-150 Raptor lacked a direct rival. Now, I have to say that at first glance, FCA has gone the distance with its latest 4x4 toy. Not only does the supercharged V8 powertrain of FCA's new monster eclipse Ford's twin-turbo V6, but other details in the spec sheet make the newcomer a real contender, unlike the Ram 1500 Rebel introduced a few years after the first Raptor. In other words, this time around, Ram has come up with the real deal, a Godzilla to Ford’s King Kong!

But let's compare some data about the two protagonists, just for the fun of it. It's worth mentioning at the outset that Ford hasn't yet revealed the details of its next Raptor, even though it has detailed most of the other versions of the 2021 F-Series. We expect it won't be long now, but in the meantime, we'll make do with this first comparison in numbers. It's assumed, by the way, that Ford will introduce a more beastly Raptor for 2021, in light of its new rival coming over the horizon.

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