Win BIG with a RAM 1500 TRX Final Edition

Written by Dave Carey

The RAM 1500 TRX Final Edition represents the end of RAM’s performance V8 truck line, with only 4000 made in total and a mere 140 earmarked for Australia. At the time of writing, all but one of these are sold, making this a very tough truck to get hold of. You could win one though, along with a bespoke $123,646 Wildtrail caravan and $50K of gold bullion in Mater Cars for Cancer’s latest lottery draw.

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The history of RAM trucks, like all commercial offerings out of the Big Three, can be traced back to before WWII, and while the ‘RAM’ name wasn’t applied back then, the actual ‘Ram’ certainly was. Between 1932 and 1954, many of Dodge’s cars and trucks were adorned with a thrusting Ram atop the bonnet. 

Chrysler’s trucks adopted the Dodge Ram name for the 1981 model year, bringing back the angry sheep motif seen on their earlier machines, but it was the second generation Ram, released in 1993, that really cemented the marque’s reputation. Eschewing the sedan-like shape other companies were striving for, Dodge instead leaned into the genre’s truck-like nature and created a veritable rig with a high, bluff nose between two low-set headlights.

Taking inspiration from prime movers such as Peterbilt and Kenworth was a risky move, but one that ultimately won the 1994 series a generation of buyers and enthusiasts. A third generation followed in 2002, and in 2004 they added a variant that laid the groundwork for the brand-new RAM 1500 TRX Final Edition you could win in Mater Cars for Cancer lottery No. 124.

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That groundwork was the Dodge Ram SRT-10 which turned people’s brains inside out as to what could be done with a pickup truck. Sure, Ford’s sporty F150 Lightning pre-dated the Ram SRT-10, but with ‘only’ 280kW in its most powerful form, it was like Ford wasn’t even trying. The Dodge Ram SRT-10 packed the same, 380kW, 8.3 litre V10 engine found in the Dodge Viper supercar, giving it a top speed of 247km/h, a feat which put it in the Guiness World Records for ‘Fastest Production Pickup Truck’.

Spun off from under Dodge to its own, standalone brand in 2009, the RAM pickup is now in its fifth generation, and the mental Mopar sports truck lives on to this day as the RAM 1500 TRX Final Edition. Buuuut, the words ‘Final Edition’ are telling, and the mighty V8 sports truck has been discontinued in favour of the more efficient, but ultimately less powerful twin turbo six-cylinder RAM 1500 RHO.

The RAM 1500 TRX runs a 6.2 litre supercharged V8, generating 523kW and a diesel-like 882Nm of torque, which is enough grunt to propel the three-tonne truck from 0 to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds.

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While it seems unwieldy on paper, the RAM 1500 TRX Final Edition is an incredible combination of sports truck, tow rig and dirt-loving fun machine. Those Satin Titanium bead-lock alloy wheels will eat up the freeway miles pulling a caravan, no less, but can be made to murder the mud with the press of a button. ‘Baja’ mode optimises the Bilstein dampers for muddy tracks and undulating dirt roads, yet ‘Sport’ mode firms it all up again like a heavyweight sports car.

Of course, you don’t get five adults in a sports car, yet the RAM has a ridiculous amount of legroom for all: a true five-seater, where all occupants are coddled in heated AND cooled ‘TRX’-embroidered premium leather seats with suede inserts. Between the eight-way adjustable front pews sits a numbered plaque on the centre console; the true mark of a special edition. 

You’d expect Apple Carplay and Android Auto for almost any modern car, but the TRX Final Edition adds to that a 19-speaker Harman Kardon sound system so you’ll never be lost for beats, and TRX-themed 12in centre screen and driver display so you’re never left wondering what mode you’re in. The electric sunroof and rear window bring the outside in when the weather is clement, or if you really just want to hear that supercharged V8 roar. I would; tickets are here:

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The RAM 1500 TRX Final Edition comes to Australia through an unusual process, but the crux of it is that the right-hand-drive conversions, fully supported by RAM Trucks USA, are handled by Walkinshaw Group. Under the banner American Special Vehicles, a joint venture with importer Ateco, Walkinshaw Group use OEM-grade tooling to create over 400 parts that go into the right-hand-drive RAM range. 

Tickets always sell fast in these lotteries, and the RAM 1500 TRX Final Edition is almost impossible to get any other way than to win it; if you’re keen on this Delmonico Red Pearl RAM in your driveway, whether that be for dirt, work or play, grab a ticket today.

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