When people usually shop for trucks, they often focus on how much weight the truck can carry or tow. But in the early ’90s, a different kind of performance truck started to get noticed, like the 1991 GMC Syclone, which was built for racing.
Since then, more fast trucks have come out, such as the Ford F-150 SVT Lightning, F-150 Raptor, and Toyota Tundra TRD Supercharged. RAM has been one of the leaders in this high-power truck trend, with some of its models having extremely strong engines. A few of its newer trucks can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds.
In 2009, Dodge made RAM its own separate truck brand and seemed fine with letting the Ford Raptor lead in off-road performance—until 2020, when RAM introduced the most powerful production truck at that time. But Ford’s 2024 F-150 Raptor R now has more horsepower than RAM’s TRX.
Even though RAM has stopped using the famous HEMI V8 engine and moved to the twin-turbo Hurricane inline-6, the power numbers are still very strong for those who love thrilling drives. Here are some of RAM’s fastest trucks since it became its own brand.
On the contrary, some trucks are very slow. With their slow pickups they are not preferred by the owners and have always been a pain to maintain and fall behind when the riders need a quick dash. In this article we will take a look at 4 of the fastest and slowest RAM trucks ever made.
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Fastest RAM Trucks
2025 Ram 1500 4×4 Laramie
The Laramie sits right in the middle of the trim options for the new RAM lineup and comes with a turbocharged inline-6 engine. Stellantis’ twin-turbo I-6 definitely lives up to its Hurricane name by delivering strong performance. The 3.0-liter twin-turbo in the 4×4 Laramie makes 420 horsepower and 469 lb-ft of torque.
These numbers are better than what the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 from the older RAM 1500 R/T could do. However, it’s unlikely that many people would think the Hurricane sounds better than the deep, growling HEMI V8.
Even though the outside of this truck doesn’t look fast—it has no flashy badges and features a four-door cab—it actually performs well on the track. It goes from 0 to 60 MPH in just 5 seconds flat and finishes the quarter mile in 13.7 seconds at just over 98 MPH.
That’s fast for a truck. That said, some reviews pointed out that the truck doesn’t handle corners or curves especially well, and that it takes some tweaking of the settings to get the best performance.
2025 RAM 1500 RHO
People who were disappointed by the end of the tough off-road TRX might be excited about what RAM has brought in its place. There are several versions of the Hurricane engine, and the new RHO uses the high-output one.
This means the 3.0-liter twin-turbo in this new off-road truck makes 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque. Thanks to that extra power, the RHO can go from 0 to 60 MPH in just an estimated 4.5 seconds, and run the quarter mile in about 13.2 seconds. Since this model is expected to follow in the footsteps of the powerful TRX, these numbers are impressive for an inline-6 engine.
Even if it doesn’t completely match the TRX in every area, it gets close. It’s around 300 pounds lighter and has better gas mileage too. One of the biggest issues with the TRX was how much fuel it used—some tests showed it only got miles per gallon in the single digits. The RHO, however, is expected to get a combined 15 miles per gallon, which is a clear improvement over the supercharged Hellcat engine.
2015 RAM 1500 R/T HEMI
In the early 2000s, Dodge put a V-10 engine from the Viper into a Ram and called it the SRT10. By 2015, RAM had nearly matched the SRT10’s speed using a 5.7-liter HEMI V8, and with better control. The RAM 1500 R/T HEMI produces 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque. It only comes in rear-wheel drive.
When it comes to speed, the R/T HEMI goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 5.4 seconds. It can finish the quarter mile in 14.1 seconds, reaching nearly 100 MPH. The downsides of this truck are that it doesn’t have a manual transmission (like the one that came with the SRT10), and it has a speed limiter that keeps the top speed at 106 MPH.
Even with the big V8 under the hood, the RAM 1500 R/T HEMI still gets around 15 miles per gallon, which isn’t too bad for a truck that weighs over 5,000 pounds.
2021 RAM 1500 TRX
Fans of RAM trucks have probably asked themselves – what would happen if RAM added the Dodge Hellcat engine to a truck? The result is the powerful 2021 RAM 1500 TRX.
It comes with a huge 6.2-liter supercharged V8. Even though it’s built more for off-road use, the TRX can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 4.1 seconds. In fact, Car and Driver said it was even faster – just 3.7 seconds when using launch control on pavement.
With 702 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, the TRX finished the quarter mile in only 12.3 seconds at 110 MPH. And it’s not a light vehicle, weighing more than 6,800 pounds. The fact that it performs better than some much lighter sports cars is impressive. But RAM stopped making the TRX in 2024 and switched to using a smaller turbocharged engine in its trucks.
Slowest RAM Trucks
Ram 3500 Heavy Duty: 8.4 Seconds 0 – 60 MPH
It makes sense that this big Ram takes a little longer to pick up speed—this is a very large truck, and speed wasn’t the main focus when it was built.
The strength this huge pickup delivers just happens to get it to 60 MPH, rather than that being something it was really meant to do.
Ram 4500/5500: 12.4 Seconds 0 – 60 MPH
This giant Ram is the slowest truck you can get in North America. It’s not really a pickup by design, but you do have the option to choose a pickup bed if you want one.
The 0-60 time mentioned here is for the slightly lighter and more streamlined flatbed version, so if you go with the pickup bed, it’ll likely be a bit slower.
2016 Ram 1500 Crew Cab EcoDiesel 4X4 – 8.8 Seconds
This Dodge Ram doesn’t have as much power as you might expect. While it stays under 10 seconds in its 0-60 time, we thought it would be quicker. Compared to other Dodge trucks that are much faster, it’s tough to figure out why this one feels slower. Maybe it’s the crew cab.
Maybe it’s the “EcoDiesel” engine that tries to mix fuel savings with strength. Or maybe it’s all the comfort features and smart parking tools that shifted the focus from power to making the ride smoother.
It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s clear that this truck is more about comfort and the overall feel of the drive than about speed. That said, it can still tow over 10,000 pounds, which is definitely impressive.
2013 Ram 3500 HD Laramie Longhorn Mega Cab Dually 4X4 – 9.5 Seconds
This truck is massive. Really, really massive. There’s a good reason it’s called the “Mega Cab.” And even though the bed looks like it was added on later as a huge extra piece, the Ram still has a good-looking design.
Since this is the second Dodge on the list, it makes sense to compare it to the 1500. The 3500 “Laramie Longhorn” doesn’t have an EcoDiesel engine slowing it down, but it is three years older than the quicker 1500 model.
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It’s much larger too—so large that you might need to spend more on a bigger driveway, in addition to paying close to $40,000 to get one. Even with all that size, Dodge still managed to get this heavy truck up to 60 MPH in under 10 seconds. But don’t expect the same results when the bed is loaded with surfboards, building gear, or even a few elephants—it’s big enough to carry them.
