The 777-HP Ram TRX Is Back, and the First Drives Say the Landings Are the Best Part

Forty-five mph. That was the number every driver at the 2027 Ram 1500 TRX SRT launch had to respect. Ram built a dirt course next to RedBud MX in Buchanan, Michigan, and the middle jump of a three-jump section had to be hit at no more than 45 mph. Go faster and, as Motor1's Jeff Glucker put it, the front skid plate meets the Earth. He watched a few journalists test that theory. The truck kept ripping.

The Drive, Motor1 and CarBuzz all published first drives on July 7. TORQFOLIO was not there. This is our read of what they reported, and the picture they paint is clear: the TRX is back with more power, it is still a monster in the dirt, and the real question is whether a six-figure V8 truck makes sense when Ram already sells the cheaper RHO.

What Ram changed

Ram dropped the TRX when it killed the Hemi in its half-tons for 2025. Now it is back, wearing an SRT badge for the first time. The supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat V8 goes from 702 to 777 hp, with 680 lb-ft. The Drive's Byron Hurd reports Ram got there with more fuel pressure and better airflow, and that the engine picked up the old Hellcat Redeye valvetrain so it now revs to 6,500 rpm. That is more power and torque than Ford's Raptor R.

The rest of the recipe is familiar. Full-time four-wheel drive through a BorgWarner 48-13 transfer case, a Dana 60 rear axle with full-floating shafts and an electronic locker, 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler tires, and adaptive Bilstein Black Hawk e2 shocks. Motor1 lists 13.0 inches of axle travel up front and 14.0 out back. CarBuzz's Christopher Smith has a spotter's guide for the new one: SRT badges in the grille and on the tailgate, red RAM lettering, red tow hooks, and 6.2L supercharged badges on the hood scoop.

Where they agree: the suspension does the impossible

Every reviewer came back talking about the landings. Glucker wrote in Motor1 that clearing the course's 100-foot tabletop felt more comfortable than hitting the speed bumps in a grocery store parking lot. Smith hit the bigger jump with SRT off-road validation engineer Toon Tan in the passenger seat and landed with what he called a cushioned thud that made him question whether he had left the ground. Later he hit a milder crest at 60 to 65 mph with the same result.

Hurd's take on the street side was the most surprising. Ram kept telling the media that luxury is part of the TRX formula, and on the broken rural roads around Buchanan he agreed. He called the TRX more of a touring machine than a sporting one: "think Biloxi Bentley, not Vicksburg Viper," he wrote in The Drive. Glucker said the same thing in plainer words, calling the on-road ride delightfully cushy and the cabin fairly quiet at highway speed despite the tires.

All three also liked the price relative to Ford. The TRX starts at $102,790 with destination. Glucker says it gets to 60 quicker than the Raptor R, has more power, and undercuts it by about $12,000. Smith pegs the Ford at nearly $114,000. Ram builds the TRX fully loaded, so the only factory option is a panoramic roof, though Motor1 notes a $9,995 Bloodshot Night edition that Glucker did not think was worth the money.

Where they split: is it worth it over the RHO?

This is where the reviews diverge. Smith drove the twin-turbo, six-cylinder RHO in late 2024, and his main complaint then was turbo lag that spoiled high-speed drifts. The Hellcat fixes that with near-instant response. But he also wrote that the TRX did not feel exceptionally fast to him in a short afternoon, and that he would be wholly satisfied with the RHO, which he says has the same suspension and 540 hp for around $76,000 with destination. He does concede that equipping an RHO like a TRX adds more than $10,000, which closes the gap.

Hurd's caution is different. He calls the TRX quick in a straight line, but says everything else it does, stopping, turning and changing direction, takes an eternity, and that the tall cab mutes the sense of speed. His point is that this is not a street bruiser. That job, he wrote, belongs to Ram's Hellcat-powered Rumble Bee, which is lower, stiffer and on street tires. Glucker had no such doubts and called the reborn TRX a return to form for SRT.

The small stuff

Glucker flagged hefty steering around town. Smith found the hands-free Level 2+ driver assist, now offered on the TRX for the first time, wandered in its lane, which he blamed on the soft suspension and big tires. He also found the suspension less effective at very low speed, where it bounced over rough ground at idle. Nobody was surprised by the fuel economy. Smith noted the 12 mpg combined rating and the premium fuel requirement.

TORQFOLIO's read

Nobody at this launch had time to verify Ram's 3.5-second and 12.2-second claims, so the TRX's straight-line case is still Ram's word until someone straps test gear to one. What the reviews do establish is that the suspension and chassis are as good as ever, the V8 is stronger, and the price undercuts the only true rival by a real margin.

If you prerun, jump, or just want the most outrageous factory truck in the parking lot, the testers' read says this is it, and the Raptor R costs more for less power. If you want the same suspension and can live without the V8 noise, Smith's argument for the RHO is hard to ignore. And if you want a fast truck for pavement, The Drive's advice is to look at the Rumble Bee instead.