Lucas Bell 
Leading up to the debut of the Ram 1500 TRX, there were longstanding rumors surrounding a naturally aspirated model that would slide below the Hellcat-powered range topper. However we got no word on such a model from Head of Ram Brand Mike Koval during yesterday’s livestream event. As it turns out, we can’t entirely rule out the rumors quite yet.
The folks over at Automobile were curious about lesser TRX as well, and asked Ram about the potential of it joining the lineup. Instead of simply stating that the company doesn’t talk about future product plans as they normally would, Ram told the publication “not at introduction”. While we can’t say that this is confirmation of the naturally aspirated TRX model, it certainly isn’t an outright denial. It’s true that Ram could just be leading us on, but there is a business case to be made for a non-Hellcat TRX.
There is no denying that Ram set out to combat the Ford F-150 Raptor with their new off-roader. Not only did they succeed in beating the Raptor on paper, but they really just destroyed it. The Ram 1500 TRX comes with 252 horsepower and 240 ft-lbs of torque more than its Blue Oval rival, and it’s nearly a second and a half quicker to 60 mph. The performance just isn’t close, which is what Ram wanted.
But all that added performance comes at a cost, which is $71,690 to be exact. That is over $13,000 more than you pay for a comparable Raptor, if you can call it that. This delta is fairly large, and may exclude some buyers from a financial standpoint. This is where a naturally aspirated variant of the Ram 1500 TRX, perhaps powered by the 6.4L Hemi V8, could come in and battle the Raptor more directly.
This could also serve to help Ram recoup some of the development cost that has gone into the TRX, which likely will sell in low volumes. That said, the company may also not want to dilute the nameplate just yet. Ford has never stuck the Raptor name on anything but their most hardcore trucks here in the United States, and maybe there is a reason for that. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see if there’s more to this rumored Ram 1500 TRX model.
