Lucas Bell 
There has never been a better time to be a fan of horsepower. The fact that you can head down to your local dealership and buy a vehicle with over 700 horsepower is absurd. The fact you can buy a pickup truck with this amount of horsepower is just comical beyond belief. But of course thanks to the folks at FCA, we can do just that. The Hellcat V8-powered Ram 1500 TRX may just be the ultimate expression of the auto industry’s pension for opulence, but it isn’t alone in its mission. Shelby American also offers a 700+ horsepower street performance pickup truck by way of the F-150 Super Snake. And thanks to the folks at the Throttle House YouTube channel, we can now watch these two super trucks face off for a proper drag race.
The Ram 1500 TRX and the Shelby F-150 Super Snake may both be 700+ horsepower pickups, but they are not the same type of vehicle. The Ram was designed to be the ultimate off-roader, and carries a load of off-road focused hardware to ensure it can take a beating. The Shelby on the other hand is an homage to the muscle trucks of days gone by, and is slammed on a set of coilovers and sticky tires. Like the Ram, the Shelby gets its power from a supercharged V8 engine. This 5.0L unit shouldn’t be dismissed by its size however, as it produces 755 horsepower. That’s quite a bit more than the 702 horsepower FCA pulls out of the Hellcat V8 in the TRX application.
On paper, this race doesn’t look to be that fair. While both trucks are incredibly powerful, the Shelby F-150 Super Snake is much more at home on the drag strip than the TRX. The Shelby is also quicker, with a 0-60 sprint time of just 3.45 seconds. The Ram 1500 TRX needs 4.5 seconds to reach that same speed. The Ram does come with launch control however, which the Shelby does not have.
Launch control did indeed help the Ram get a jump on the F-150 in the Throttle House test, but the Shelby proved to be too powerful for the TRX in the end. Power differential aside, the Ram 1500 TRX is significantly heavier than the single cab F-150 that is used as the base for the Super Snake. The Ram also wears 35-inch off-road rubber, which aren’t exactly known for their drag racing capabilities. The race from a dig might have been close, but the roll race was an utter spanking for the TRX. Who would have thought that just a little more power and less weight would make the Shelby that much more potent?
So then if you are buying a super truck to dominate the pavement, perhaps the Shelby F-150 Super Snake is the correct choice for you. If you need a pickup to take you anywhere and over anything, the Ram 500 TRX is clearly the winner. Either way, the races do make FCA’s claims about the TRX being the quickest, fastest, and most powerful pickup on sale seem a bit silly. Sure the Shelby isn’t a factory Ford product, but you can definitely order one from your authorized local Ford dealer.
