Compared to him, even a Porsche Cayenne Turbo is an eco, a Maybach GLS is a small car and a Lamborghini Hurracan is a decent car. Because the Ram 1500 TRX is a car of extremes in every respect. Especially when it does not curve through Texas or Nevada, but through the foothills of the Alps.
The Wild West is everywhere - if necessary even in and around Munich. At least when you're in the right car. Because all you need is a car like the RAM 1500, then even the Allgäu looks suspiciously like Arizona, the imagination beats the pandemic and with every burst of gas you get a little closer to America.
Pick-up as a sport version
And accelerate, that's easy in the Ram 1500. Because the pick-up that the official Stellantis importer AEC is bringing to Europe for prices starting at 119.000 euros this summer is not the usual flatbed truck that is behind the Ford F-150 and the Chevrolet Silverado is traditionally number three in the US charts. We are sitting in the sports version RAM 1500 TRX. Developed as the long overdue answer to the legendary F-150 Raptor, of which Ford sells more than Porsche of all models put together, it is transformed from a truck into a pleasure vehicle and feels like a Mercedes Actros with AMG tuning.
In addition to the imposing format of almost six meters in length and more than two meters in height and with tires the size of a dump truck, there is also an engine that overshadows everything the sober commercial vehicle market has to offer. Because money apparently didn't play a role in this project and only a lot really helps a lot, RAM used the legendary V8 engine from the Dodge Hellcat and installed a 6,2 liter power plant including a huge compressor under the hood. Such a pick-up offers enough space for that. Instead of the previous maximum of almost 400 hp with the 5,7 liter Hemi-V8, the Ram 1500 now delivers 711 hp and becomes the most powerful series pickup in the world. And because this is also accompanied by almost 900 Nm, the 2,5 tons of the 1500 are literally no longer significant. Even before the foot touches the huge accelerator pedal, they have dissolved in good pleasure and while the Ram with its smoking 35-inchers becomes a black painter, the load pushes ahead until it takes the driver's breath away. If the breath weren't still short from the ascent and the senses dizzy from the sheer height, it would be dangerous for the mind at the latest with the first kickdown, the less than five seconds for the sprint to 100 feel so brutal. And a maximum of 190 km / h in a steamroller like this one is a bit more impressive than full throttle in any Porsche.
Enough space for food
While one crouches tightly squeezed under a flat roof in tightly cut bucket seats in an ordinary sports car and almost grinds on the asphalt with the very best, here one sits enthroned on a comfortable leather armchair above the things. There is more space than in a Munich student apartment, more electrical helpers than in an E-Class and larger screens than at home in the office. And more canned beer fits in the center console than an Oktoberfest waitress can carry in a beer mug.
Although the car catches everyone's eye and thus becomes the uncrowned king of the promenade, driving is a different matter: On the highway the Ram may be a commodity cruiser, on the prairie it becomes a pleasure vehicle and even in the thicket of an American downtown it should Streets wide enough for such a colossus. But the rush hour traffic in Munich becomes a sweaty affair, even if the other road users voluntarily keep a certain respectful distance, and on the autobahn, at least in the construction sites and on bridges, it is better to sort yourself into the trucks so that the huge flared fenders do not stick to the concrete Scrape the lane divider. Even on the country road, a little foresight and, above all, foresight is required, because the turning circle of the thick ship is reminiscent of an ocean liner and the brakes on the 2,5 tonnes are difficult to chew with every bite.
Unfortunately, there is no desert in Munich ...
The ram is only unstoppable away from the asphalt: With almost endless ground clearance and even more spring deflection, armed for every wave in the ground, with a wading depth of 80 centimeters even by the Isar and protected against all ground contact with heavy metal underwear, you don't really need one Precise steering and particularly snappy brakes, just a heavy accelerator and a courageous driver - close your eyes and through is the motto, while the electronics ensure a relaxed landing after leaping and the hard-boiled all-wheel drive for constant traction.
Unfortunately, even at the wheel of a rally pick-up, the desert is wide and the roads around Munich are not so bad that you can really enjoy the advantages of the RAM1500 TRX. But the uncomprehending look of the others alone is worth tormenting your way through a city center with this car, the friendly laugh of the tank attendant when the flow meter gets a twist when the fuel consumption is over 20 liters and the tank volume is 125 liters, and the incredulous amazement of the sports car driver in the second track, the worldview of which this colossus shakes with a kickdown. Of course, the 119.000 euros upwards that the official importer AEC estimates for the 1500 TRX is a proud sum. But you are certain to pay more attention to it than in any much more expensive sports car. And again and again you experience moments that are almost priceless. Especially when the truck drives astray in the Allgäu instead of Arizona.