Ram TRX supercharged V8 takes on Rivian EV in drag race

For those who don’t know, the Ram 1500 TRX is pitched as the fastest and most brutal pickup truck ever created. It’s pretty much as obnoxious as four wheels can get, with a huge snout, bulging wheel arches and enough scoops and vents to suggest plenty is going on beneath that sizeable bonnet.

The TRX takes American muscle and injects it with serious go-fast steroids in the form of a supercharged V8 that not only does its bit for the world’s fossil fuel reserves but also makes plenty of noise along the way.

It’s not the sort of car Greta Thunberg is likely to get within a few hundred metres of…

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But that biggest, baddest and most politically incorrect truck has just been put in its place by an EV.

OK, not just any electric car, but the Rivian R1T.

The Fast Lane has conducted a drag race between the TRX and R1T – and it’s the Rivian that comes up with a clear victory. You can watch the video by clicking here.

The first electric ute to hit the market, Rivian has buyers queuing to be part of a Tesla-esque story of passionate fans and innovative engineering.

Rivian hasn’t just taken the traditional American pickup truck formula and made it all clean and green.

It’s started from scratch with a thoroughly distinctive design that somehow looks retro and futuristic at the same time.

The R1T also gets four electric motors for a combined 588kW and 1400Nm.

The TRX, on the other hand, gets a supercharged V8 making 523kW and 881Nm.

It’s a reasonable on-paper fight, even if the R1T has a clear torque advantage – as well as a heavier body due to a 135kWh battery pack.

And it’s that torque that makes the difference in the drag race, with TFL finding the Rivian launched harder than its V8 rival and continued that pace down the truncated drag strip.

The result is perhaps no surprise, given Ram quotes a 0-60mph (96km/h) time of 4.5 seconds, whereas Rivian claims about 3.0 seconds for its R1T.

But there’s nothing like a drag strip to really ram home the differences between EV and ICE.

Describing it as a “very impressive piece of kit”, the testers were clearly impressed with how easily the R1T disposed of the fastest-accelerating ute ever created.

All of which bodes well for electric utes when they finally make it to Australia.

Performance is clearly a biggie for utes in Australia, with Volkswagen’s V6-powered Amarok still kicking sales goals in the twilight of its life (a new Amarok is due in 2023) and Ford gearing up to unleash a V6-powered version of the new Ranger that goes on sale mid-2022.

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But range will also be a huge talking point for utes in Australia. A lot of people love covering big distances in their utes, often in remote areas. Many also like to tow with them, something that creates an additional challenge with range and charging.

Looking at the development that’s currently largely focused on the US market all those issues look like being addressed.

The next challenge is getting some of these utes to Australia.

Rivian has plans to launch in Australia, but it doesn’t look like happening until 2024 at the earliest.

Some of the mid-sized utes from Ford and Ram could be a possibility, although again it’s not going to happen in the short term.