First Drive Dodge Ram T-Rex: Real-world 6x6 with A 26,000-Pound GCWR

V-10 Power
In the beginning, the T-Rex project team used theoretical upgrade numbers of 400 horsepower and 500 lb.-ft. of torque as load parameters for the axles, transfer cases, and transmission. When the engine team came back with 100 more horsepower and lb.-ft. of torque than they were originally hoping to get, we're told more than a few jaws dropped to the floor.

The team slapped a stock 8.0-liter V-10 on the table, then started playing with it the way Walker Evans might if he were going to race in the next Baja or Daytona NASCAR Super Truck race. A new billet crank, 12:1 ported and polished heads, a new cam grind, bigger injectors, forged steel rods, and aluminum rollers are among the performance items. With better air flow on both the intake and exhaust, plus the added advantage of a newly remapped J-Tech Mopar computer, the biggest motor alive for a factory full-size pickup becomes even more impressive.

Naturally, something with this much compression would be impractical on city streets. We didn't get to drive the truck long enough to collect mileage numbers, but we could guess that government CAFE restrictions would be a serious obstacle.

As we were filling up on the 108-octane race fuel T-Rex likes to drink, it struck us that the new Cummins, due out next year, would be a better match for a tow vehicle of this size, quality, and stature. When we suggested a new six-speed transmission hooked up behind the new Cummins to two T-Rex engineers, they just looked at each other. . . with smiles on their faces.

Dual actuator tanks give the system the ability to react to a wide variety of demands without overheating the compressor. The tanks are mounted between Dana 60 No. 2 and Dana 60 No. 3, well out of the way of any flying debris. Because of the necessary proximity of the two driven rear axles and the design of the driveline, the second driveshaft is quite short. As a result, the back Dana 60 had to be tilted slightly, with the third member offset to the passenger's side of the truck.

Dual actuator tanks give the system the ability to react to a wide variety of demands with

All Smiles
As you can imagine, the engineers weren't the only ones with smiles on their faces. Driving a vehicle like T-Rex is like a birthday, Christmas, and the lottery all rolled into one big package: suspension controls, 6x6 Low-Range, custom eight-way adjustable seats, twin-tube shock adjustments, and a fierce V-10 when you put your foot into the throttle.

Whether or not this truck goes into production-as much as we'd like to see it or some deviation of it-is a moot point. We have no doubt there is at least some part, maybe many parts, that will eventually make it to the full-size Ram, or Dakota, or the next big Jeep-maybe even the next small Jeep. Given that so many of the pieces that make up T-Rex were pulled "off the shelf," we can see that as nothing else but a big, bold sign of encouragement that more good things are coming from Chrysler. T-Rex, unlike its extinct carnivore namesake, looks to have a healthy future relying on the strength of past and present technology.