Jurassic Prank? Ram Hints TRX Just Playing Dead, Toying With Raptors

While many are disappointed that the there isn’t a 2025-model-year Ram 1500 TRX—meaning no more off-road Ram with a supercharged V-8 is available—to go along with the rest of the updated 1500 lineup, the feeling might be premature. Sure, the 2025 1500 RHO appears to be a direct TRX replacement, albeit with a less powerful twin-turbo I-6 engine instead of a 702-hp stonker. But it might not be the most powerful post-refresh Ram 1500 for long, nor will it be the only "three-letter" model. In a new Ram television ad, there is an easter egg referencing the RHO's horsepower (540) on the number plate of a nearby dirt bike. A second motorcycle in the next frame conspicuously wears a blank number plate—is it a hint?

The Ad In Question

A story by Motor Authority points out that the RHO television ad—called “The Convoy”—led by actor Glen Powell offers two easter eggs. Just before the one-minute mark, there are two KTM dirt bikes riding to meet a Ram 1500 Rebel X. As mentioned, one uses a numberplate with “540” on it. That one, per Jeff Summers, head of advertising at Ram, is a reference to the horsepower output of the 2025 1500 RHO. The second bike has its number plates blanked out. That’s not out of the ordinary and something most would easily overlook, but when Motor Authority asked Summers about it, he’s quoted as saying the bike without numbers is a “placeholder” for Ram’s next “High HP vehicle with three letters.” That sure sounds to us like a hint that the TRX name might not be dead for long.

What Does This Mean?

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Unfortunately, Ram is being silent on what Summers meant by this statement. We reached out to Ram for comment and were told that they couldn’t give us any direction on what’s coming next. While you can read into that as not confirming something is coming soon, it’s also fair to say Ram didn’t un-confirm that a new TRX (or something similar) is on the way.

One way to look at this is to consider the TRX name itself—a nod to the T-Rex, a dinosaur mightier than the smaller Raptor. Hey, doesn't Ford make an F-150 with that name...? Exactly, and when the 1500 TRX debuted for 2021, it and its 702-hp V-8 engine easily out-muscled the then-six-cylinder-only F-150 Raptor. The TRX name fit. Then Ford added a Raptor R for 2023 with... a supercharged V-8, though with "only" 700 hp, allowing the Ram's name to continue on unironically (even if the less powerful Raptor R proved quicker). A year later, the R received a TRX-beating power bump to 720 hp for the 2024 model year, just as Ram sunset the TRX. Perhaps the TRX name is on hiatus until Ram can squeeze Raptor R–beating power from its new Hurricane inline-six, which reports suggest is capable of such output. Meanwhile, the RHO can claim bragging rights over the non-R Raptor.

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The HurriCrate—a Hurricane I-6 derived crate engine program—and its “CatX” is supposed to produce 1,000 hp. This makes it possible that a road-legal version of the CatX could find its way into a new TRX, though making south of the millennium mark unless Stellantis straps some sort of hybrid system to it for an extra boost in power.

Or maybe Ram doesn't try for gas power at all. With an electric version of the Ram 1500 coming, it’s possible the next TRX be a much different animal. If the mightiest 2024 Dodge Chargers (the Daytonas) can go all-electric, why couldn't the maximal version of Ram's 1500 pickup? With even the regular 2025 Ram 1500 Rev EV delivering over 600 hp, perhaps a TRX-ified Rev with off-road kit and everything could see the same EV powerplant from the Charger SRT Banshee version. While no horsepower numbers have been officially released on the SRT Banshee, expect nothing less than 700 hp in it or an all-electric Ram 1500 TRX.

What If It’s Not a TRX?

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While the TRX name and off-road theme is the most likely direction the next high-horsepower Ram 1500 will go, there are other possibilities for a “high hp vehicle with three letters” by Ram. The least likely, but historically relevant, is the GTX. From 2004 to 2005, Ram released a GTX variant of the Dodge Ram 1500. It really didn’t provide higher output versus a standard Ram but did offer a cruiser truck with classic nameplate. If Stellantis keeps on its nostalgia kick for high-powered variants, a Ram 1500 GTX could be an all-electric cruiser that has a stance lower than the REV. To take advantage of its historic three letters and making good on its high hp promise, the 630 hp (670 hp in short Power Shot boosts) electric powerplant from the Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack could find its way under the Ram 1500 GTX. Again, this is the least likely scenario, but a fun one to think about.

The other direction would be an SRT version of the Ram 1500. Again, instead of being off-road focused, it would stay in its SRT roots for a high-horsepower truck ready for the drag strip. Like the ICE-powered TRX we mentioned earlier, it could have an extreme output version of the Hurricane I-6. Or could follow the Charger SRTs in being all-electric like the GTX we mention above or go further and be a truck version of the Dodge Charger SRT Banshee.

Again, all three of these trucks are pure speculation for now. While the ultimate direction and the three chosen letters of the next high-horsepower Ram 1500 is unknown, we know that something is coming and anything less than 700 hp (or, more specifically, 720 Raptor R–beating hp) will be a disappointment. It’s just a matter of if it will be a pavement pounder or another desert racer.