On Monday, August 17th, Ram revealed the new 1500 TRX. The off-road pickup truck has been hotly anticipated for years. It is a variant of the Ram 1500, built as a direct competitor to the Ford Raptor off-road pickup. So, to take advantage of that built-up excitement around the new TRX, Ram also announced that 702 Launch Editions of the pickup truck could be pre-ordered. But, those may not have been enough.

Order books were open and closed quickly

The order books for the Ram 1500 TRX and the TRX Launch Edition opened on August 18th. Unfortunately, the 702 units set aside as Launch Edition trucks are no longer available. According to a press release on August 19th, it took a mere three hours to sell them out.

“The groundswell of demand for our all-new 2021 Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition validates our efforts to bring the fastest, quickest, most powerful pickup truck to market. We said the Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition would go fast. And we meant that in more ways than one.” – Mike Koval Jr., Head of Ram Brand

Production of the Launch Edition pickup

The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition production is still a ways out. It will start during the fourth quarter of this year. Deliveries are expected before the new year. The base price for the Launch Edition is $92,010, roughly $20,000 more than the base Ram 1500 TRX. The engine will remain unmodified from one variant of the TRX to another.

How the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition is different from the Ram 1500 TRX

The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition does have some goodies to differentiate it from other Ram 1500 TRX models. It has an exclusive Anvil Gray paint, and special badging that is red and brushed-aluminum placed on the center console. It will also have the TRX Level 2 Equipment Group. This adds, “carbon-fiber interior trim, color accent package, Head-up Display, beadlock-capable wheels, 19-speaker Harman Kardon premium sound system, dual-pane panoramic sunroof, and bodyside graphics.”

Ram joins the battle of off-road pickup trucks

The Ford Raptor has long been the off-road pickup king. However, Ram has billed their TRX as the “apex predator”, meaning it expects it to outperform any competition. A little further into the press release it says,

“Designed bolt by bolt to significantly outperform every other truck, the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX has been tested to handle the most punishing conditions with extreme durability. Powered by the 702-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V-8 engine, the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX delivers a top speed of 118 mph on its way to being the quickest, fastest and most powerful mass-produced half-ton pickup truck in the world.”

The only thing is, Chevrolet has kept mum on their ZRX special project, which is also rumored to be a serious off-road contender. No word has been given on when that will be revealed. So, when it is all said and done, all three American pickup brands will have off-road monsters, making this a great time to be alive.