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FCA US LLC
Ram’s Raptor Rival?
Ram Rebel TRX Concept
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FCA US LLC
Ram’s Raptor Rival?
Big fender flares give the TRX an imposing presence.
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Courtesy of Ram
Ram’s Raptor Rival?
King external bypass coilover shocks are infinitely adjustable and will smooth out the harshest roads.
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FCA US LLC
Ram’s Raptor Rival?
With 575 hp, the TRX is literally a gravel machine gun.
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FCA US LLC
Ram’s Raptor Rival?
Side exit exhaust that pays homage to FCA Vipers.
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Courtesy of Ram
Ram’s Raptor Rival?
A little helpful tip Ram, if you build it, give it some longer brake lines.
By Budd Stanley, photos courtesy of Ram
Ram Rebel TRX Concept is a 160 kmh off-road weapon
The Ford Raptor, the pinnacle of off-road production supertruck. It’s so awesome that after six years in production, Ford just can’t make enough of them, yet no other manufacturer has been brazen enough to challenge them. Ford took a chance in a niche market and the payback has been huge, and while it is a very lucrative market to be in, we’ve seen many others look but few take the plunge.
That's not to say we haven’t seen anyone probing Fords front lines. Soon after the launch of the Raptor, Mopar began to offer a Prerunner kit for the Ram 1500, which if you didn’t mind getting your hands dirty and ripping apart a brand new truck, offered some solace to Ram owners. GM didn’t even go that far, showing a couple of aftermarket built desert racer-themed builds of the Silverado 1500, but nothing has been seen of those vehicles since they were modeled on the auto show floor.
However, in the last year we’ve noticed quite a few design and engineering studies taking place that seem directly aimed at the Raptors supremacy of the high performance off-roader. The latest, and most intriguing of which is the unveiling of the Ram Rebel TRX at the Texas State Fair.
You gotta love Chrysler’s hammer and fist approach to such challenges. When you need to beat the other guy, make sure you come to the fight with a bigger bat, and that's precisely what they have done. At the heart of the TRX concept is of course the 6.2L HEMI V-8. While this engine is very much related to the 707 hp Hell Cat mills that have been dumped in every large engine bay Chrysler has in their stable, the volume knob on this engine hasn’t been turned to 11, but sits nicely at 10. Even at this level (detuned for off-road durability), the supercharged V-8 is cranking out a massive 575 hp, which is still 125 hp more than the upcoming second generation of the Raptor. That's substantial.
However, power is nothing without control, and by the looks of Rams concentration in the suspension department of the TRX, that shouldn’t be a problem. It all starts with a set of King Off-Road 2.5-inch bypass performance shocks, coilovers on the front and shock and coil link on the rear to smooth out the bumps. The front suspension incorporates custom-built upper and lower A-arms with special attention to caster and camber angles during suspension cycling. The whole package gives a massive 40 percent increase in suspension travel, giving the TRX 13-inch of travel over the Ram Rebels 9-in.
The addition of fender flares on all four corners increases the TRX’s width by 6-in, allowing the big 37-inch tires to make use of the full range of the newfound 13-inches of suspension travel. And hey… they look pretty cool too.
As with many off-road focused vehicles today, the TRX concept uses Ram’s 4x4 Performance Control System with a BorgWarner 44-45 transfer case. The system employs different modes of operation: Normal, Wet/Snow, Off-road and Baja.
Drivetrain wise, the TRX concept uses a standard Ram 1500 front axle with an open differential and custom CV half-shafts to handle the wider track dimension. The spindles are moved forward to make room within the fender wells for the aggressive 37-inch tires. In the rear, a Dynatrac Pro 60 axle spools power through an electric, selectable locker to 35-spline, 1.5-inch axle shafts. The locker is available in all modes and commits both rear wheels to traction at the same speed, spreads the torque load and maximizes the tractive effort in full-throttle manoeuvres.
On top of the impressive mechanicals, Ram has decorated the exterior with all the standard “look cool” equipment such as LED light bars and bed mounted roll hoop.
So the question at the end of the day is simple, will the Rebel TRX become reality? To go head to head with the Raptor, one must have supreme confidence in the performance and quality of their product, because jumping into this market could have very dire consequences if you get it wrong. However, after so many teases and taunts by other manufacturers dipping their toes in the waters, the Ram Rebel TRX concept is the first high performance off-roader that looks as though it can realistically take the battle to the Raptor.
Of course, the TRX is nothing more than a concept vehicle, an engineering, design and consumer-interest study. However, there seems to be some real-world work being done here, and it looks like Ram is looking very seriously at this one. Ram…. build it!