In this ever-changing automotive world where even famous brands come and go and the electric revolution is upon us, there’s one marque that’s been the symbol of coolness for over five decades now: Lamborghini. It’s hard to beat the larger-than-life appearance of a Raging Bull, which is precisely why the custom car realm will try to take on Lambos as often as it can. And building a twin-turbocharged Ram 1500 TRX that’s high on compound boost sound like a reasonably fit way to take on a Lamborghini.
As the modded truck takes on a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, with one of the cameras involved in capturing the stunt sitting inside the supercar, we notice a shiny piece of metal lurking behind the right-side front fender liner of the pickup. That is the charge pipe, one of the pieces that make up this Ram puzzle that we’ve nicknamed TTRX.
We first talked about the vehicle last week, when YouTuber Street Speed 717 introduced the build. Michael Hyssong is the enthusiast’s real name and the Internet is familiar with it thanks to reasons that range from races like this one to a TRX jumping video that saw the vlogger being slapped with a $53,000 fine over causing damage to a body of water in Pennsylvania.
This is his third TRX (he sold the original after it took serious damage in the said jump), an Ignition Edition whose dedicated shade of orange stands out from a distance.
The pair of turbochargers feeding boost into the factory blower was installed by New Jersey-based Ripatuned. It’s worth noting that the snails sit underneath the vehicle, being (partially) protected by the factory skid plate. As is the case with 6.2-liter Hellcat V8s that are taken into four-digit muscle territory simply by playing with the supercharger, this project also features larger injectors and an oil catch can.
The truck rides on 37-inch rubber (the maximum size allowed by the factory suspension), which isn’t exactly what you want when drag racing.
1,000 HP twin-turbo RAM TTRX vs. Lamborghini Avenador SVJ
We’ll return to the numbers we mentioned last week, as they clearly favor the Italian exotic, which, by the way, is also owned by the vlogger. Sure, the V12 monster is down on power—770 hp vs. 900 hp (on 93-octane pump gas) or 1,000 hp (using an ethanol-gas mix, as seen here). However, if we take into account the 2,900 lbs (1,300 kg) scale footprint advantage of the midship machine, things suddenly look different.
Both pack AWD and while the Ram sports a ZF eight-speed automatic the Lambo comes with an ISR (Independent Shifting Rod) seven-speed automated manual—the latter isn’t as sharp as the dual-clutch units most contemporary supercars use, being focused on delivering neck-snapping shifts that add to the driving experience.
Each of the toys comes with its own assets that aren’t relevant for this straight-line asphalt scenario: the Aventador SVJ used to hold the Nurburgring production car lap record (6:44 seconds), while the Ram can handle offroading like a champ (hey, it’s better at this game than the Ford F-150 Raptor, even though the comparo has nothing to do with the latter’s lack of a V8).
Given the details above, you’d expect the Ram TTRX to become a mere rear-view mirror ornament for the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, in terms of both drag and roll racing (both setups are used here). However, with a little help from the drivers—guess we could call it the “early start magic”, the truck manages to deliver door-to-door action while taking on the supercar, which may or may not be revved all the way to the ideal shifting points (we can’t see the dash).
Sure, the way in which the races are handled is not natural. Then again, we can say the same about the sheer idea of pitting a truck against a Lamborghini, even if the Italian marque started out in life by building tractors.
