- We recently tested a Ram 1500 TRX, and it dramatically outperformed expectations for straight-line acceleration.
- Its 3.7-second shot to 60 mph is far quicker than Ram’s 4.5-second estimate, which it provided at the TRX’s launch.
- However, using simple equations to calculate horsepower based on vehicle weight, quarter-mile time, and trap speed suggest that the TRX’s power is in line with the stated figure of 702 horsepower.
Our gut reaction to the Ram TRX’s truly astonishing acceleration—shooting to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 12.3 seconds at 110 mph—had us wondering if our truck had been slipped a 797-hp Redeye engine or maybe an 840-hp Demon variant.
Even though, at a massive 6866 pounds, the TRX weighs some 1600 pounds (!) more than the 707-hp Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, it’s only 0.3 second slower to 60 mph and 0.5 second tardier through a quarter-mile. That’s far better than Ram’s estimates of a 4.5-second zero-to-60-mph time and a 12.9-second quarter-mile. Perhaps those sandbagging claims were to give Ford a false sense of confidence about the performance of its supposedly soon-to-arrive V-8–powered F-150 Raptor for a few more months.
Ram engineers scoffed at our suggestion that this press truck was making more horsepower than advertised, but couldn’t provide a solid explanation why the TRX’s acceleration numbers far exceed those of the Trackhawk despite the huge weight difference. Sure enough, estimating our TRX’s power based on weight, quarter-mile time, and trap speed—Horsepower = Weight x (trap speed/234)^3 and Horsepower = Weight / (quarter-mile time/5.825)^3—indeed places the output between 695 and 705 horses, right in line with the truck’s nominal 702-hp rating.
Maybe it’s the Ram’s Hellcat-powered sibling that’s coming up short. The same calculations using our test numbers for the Trackhawk suggests it makes between 601 and 624 horsepower.
Either way, the TRX’s outrageous acceleration is one of the great performance surprises of the year.
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Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
