It’s only been a few days since the all-new 2021 Ram 1500 TRX was revealed with its Hellcat V8 engine shilling a whopping 702 horsepower, but the truck will get no rest at the top. A new, well-timed leak claims the next Ford F-150 Raptor will also get a new V8 engine with over 700 HP.
Here’s the reported leak from The Drive:
Ram has its new Hellcat-powered TRX, GM has no answer to this because it’s GM, and today, we’ve got a new report from a well-sourced informant who claims Ford is “without a doubt” dropping the Mustang GT500's 5.2-liter, 700+ horsepower supercharged V8 into the new 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor.
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“Honestly, we had to counter Ram once we knew they installed the Hellcat in the TRX,” a source within Ford told our informant. Considering they’ll have the new TRX beat for power, that’s definitely a good counter. And along with this update concerning the Raptor’s drivetrain, we’ve also received a new spy shot (seen up top) that seem to hint at the truck’s new coil-spring rear suspension—note the extra underbody cladding around the rear axle to cover up where the leaf springs would normally be seen.
You’ll have to head over to The Drive to see their new spy photo that may reveal the above details about the modified suspension. Last March, Car And Driver also claimed to have sources reporting the same rumor. Seems like maybe somebody within Ford may have a vested interest in dimming the new Ram’s light a little, and suspiciously loose lips.
But if the leaks are true and the next-gen Raptor really is getting the GT500's engine, that’s be a 5.2-liter supercharged V8, which the drive’s source claims will offer over 725 HP—a few horses ahead of the Ram TRX but likely at least a little behind the 760-HP pony donor car.
The current Raptor has done plenty with its 450-HP, 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 so far, but I guess Ford caught wind of what Ram had planned. It did take four years for Ram to get from the first TRX concept to a production car, so Ford had time.
These truck wars are starting to feel like the German executive sedan market around a decade ago, when they all feigned panic about the future (or were just really cash flush) and threw V8 and V10 engines in all of their cars for the thrill of it. I guess we can just enjoy it and join in on the fun.