General Motors and Ford are the old, staid schoolmarms of Southeast Michigan’s automobile manufacturing scene. Since at least the 1950s, when Virgil Exner?s Forward Look machines outfinned anything from the other American manufacturers, Chrysler has been the nothing-to-lose weird kid. To wit: It has given us High Impact Paint, the Air Grabber hood, and, of course, the Dodge Omni Shelby GLHS. So why is it that musty ol? Ford has the Raptor and FCA has nothing in the RamBox that directly competes" Sure, it?s only a concept, but the Rebel TRX goes a ways toward evening up that score. The Ford may have a new 450-hp turbo six, but in typical folks-who-brought-you-the-Hellcat fashion, the TRX has a 575-hp supercharged 6.2-liter V-8.
But it?s not just a power move. And after all, the Jeep Trailcat concept is a Hellcatted Wrangler, and a 707-hp descendant of the CJ is a more brain-capsizing thing than a full-size pickup with less power than a Mustang GT500. Instead, Ram has built a truck that, at least on paper, goes head to head with Ford?s darling desert beast?and, seemingly, would be relatively easy to put into production. It?s got the practically mandatory bypass shocks bolted to the stock mounts at all four corners, more than 13 inches of wheel travel in the rear (up from the stock Ram 1500?s 9.25 inches), custom upper and lower front A-arms, and 37-inch tires wrapped around custom Mopar beadlock wheels. Behind the wheels, Baer six-piston calipers clamp 15-inch r...