The Ram 1500 RHO Is A 540 HP F-150 Raptor Fighter That’s Also $8K Cheaper – The Autopian

The 2025 Ram 1500 RHO isn’t a TRX successor. It doesn’t offer absurd horsepower, zero-to-60 mph times that feel scarcely believable on off-road tires, or the wail of a melodramatic banshee fronting a sonic boom of V8 bellow. However, it might have a nobler task to complete — this desert runner features a whole lot of TRX hardware, but Ram has the production capacity to make as many as it wants. The TRX was the halo, the RHO is for the people. Intrigued? Good.

While the 540-horsepower twin-turbocharged three-liter Hurricane inline-six isn’t a Hellcat motor (the Hemi V8 is dead), zero-to-60 mph in a manufacturer-claimed 4.6 seconds isn’t slow by any stretch of the imagination, and a huge vehicle like this running the quarter mile in 13.1 seconds at 105 mph is seriously impressive.

Unusually, alterations to the engine for off-road duty are small. A massive conical air filter that draws air through a functional hood scoop aids airflow into the engine, while equal-length pipes off the turbos with an H-pipe in the mid-section of the exhaust to balance exhaust pressures and a valved muffler are all aimed at letting exhaust gases flow freely while offering a different tone than you’d get in most Hurricane six-cylinder Rams. Interestingly, the inline-six in this thing features dual oil pickups, one at the front of the pan and one at the rear, which should help oiling on steep inclines and descents.

Other key specs? The 2025 Ram 1500 RHO rocks a Dana 60 full-floating rear axle, features a 31-degree approach angle, a 25.2-degree departure angle, a 21.8-degree breakover angle, 325/65R18 (35-inch) all-terrain tires, a towing capacity of 8,380 pounds, and a 1,520-pound payload capacity. Nice.

Should you wish to run bigger tires like 37-inch meats, Ram claims you may have to play with offsets and do a bit of trimming, but that’s way better than a hard no.

It Looks The Absolute Business

It shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the Ram 1500 RHO looks similar to the dearly departed supercharged V8 TRX, although look a little closer and you’ll see some styling differences.

Up front, there’s a new grille with a lower kick-up on the bottom edge and a flow-through Ram wordmark that sits higher on new mesh. Speaking of front end components, peep the new headlights. Nice.

As for other cosmetic changes, new taillights and a new graphics package are among the more noticeable alterations, while 18-inch beadlock-capable wheels remain on the options sheet.

Inside, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the 2025 Ram RHO will be familiar to half-ton Stellantis pickup buyers, but there are a few enhancements onboard here. The front seats feature higher bolsters, the truck gains a console-mounted shifter and king-sized shift paddles for banging through the eight gears, and there are auxiliary switches for whatever mods you can imagine. While the base trim still gets a 12.3-inch digital cluster that can bring up all sorts of vehicle data from roll angle to shift lights, along with a 12-inch infotainment screen and a 10-speaker audio system, luxuries like massaging front seats, a 14.25-inch center touchscreen, ventilated rear seats, and a hands-free advanced driver assistance suite are all available as part of an option package called, somewhat confusingly, the RHO Equipment Group.

The TRX-Like Suspension Will Give You Wings

As far as chassis hardware goes, it’s all similar stuff to the TRX but with different tuning, although we have to give a shoutout to remote-reservoir Bilstein Blackhawk E-squared adaptive dampers with variable compression and rebound damping. Ram claims these dampers offer a whole bunch of bandwidth; not only can they can damp body roll on turn-in in sport mode, they help offer 13 inches of front wheel travel and 14 inches of rear wheel travel to let you live out your fantasy of being Nicolas Cage in “Gone In 60 Seconds,” as the press shot below demonstrates.

Yeehaw. It’s safe to assume that during dune heroics, you’re going to want to engage Baja Mode. This drive mode slackens off the dampers and puts 75 percent of torque to the rear axle for fun in the dunes, meaning you should be able to huck some serious powerslides and get some proper hang time. It’s worth noting that Ram claims to have taken 180 pounds off of the RHO’s front axle compared to the TRX (total weight reduction clocks in at 150 pounds), so there’s a possibility this new truck will fly even straighter. Who wants to be a hero?

Damn, It’s Cheap For What It Is

Speaking of heroics, let’s talk price, because Ram is getting aggressive. The 2025 Ram RHO starts at $71,990 including a $1,995 freight charge. That’s $8,335 less expensive than an Ecoboost V6-powered Raptor, and $3,480 less expensive than a Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Hell, that’s only $6,595 more than a Tacoma TRD Pro, which is an entire size class down of truck.

Needless to say, Ram wants to move big numbers, which helps explain both the pricing and why order books for the 2025 Ram RHO are open now. Expect the first examples to roll into showrooms in the third quarter of this year. While the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO isn’t a mega-power TRX successor, it makes big-league Ram-branded off-road fun a whole lot more accessible, and that seems like a brilliant move.

(Photo credits: Ram)

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