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Best Hot Rod Trucks Ever Made

Vukasin Herbez December 16, 2024

The pickup trucks can be considered one of the definitive American car classes. Even though you might be familiar with recent models such as the Ram SRT-10 or Ford Raptor, the truth is that muscle trucks date way back to the ’60s and the original muscle era. Today, we will tell you about the most interesting and best-known hot rod trucks and pickups that can tow, carry, load, and burn rubber.

Dodge D-Series High-Performance Package

1960 Dodge Sport Truck Mt Classic 9.jpg Copy — Photo Credit: Hot Rod

Back in the early ’60s, Dodge’s truck lineup was behind that of Ford and Chevrolet. Competitors had newer models, more options, and wider engine choices. However, Dodge did not give up and introduced an interesting special edition from 1964 to 1966 that took the pickup world by storm. It was called the High-Performance Package, and it featured a lot of go-faster goodies from Mopar. First, there was the mighty 426 Wedge V8 engine with 375 hp.

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Ford Ranchero GT

In the late ’60s, when the muscle car craze took the American automotive landscape by storm, Ford introduced its most potent car engine – the mighty 429 Cobra Jet to the Ranchero line. If you opted for the GT package in 1970 and paid extra for 429, you could get one of the fastest trucks on the planet along with optional wood grain sides, hood scoop, and suspension upgrades. The Cobra Jet engine was rated at 335 hp, but in reality, it was over 450 hp.

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Dodge Ram SRT-10

Produced from 2004 to 2006, the Dodge Ram SRT-10 is among the craziest, most powerful, and fastest pickups ever produced. That is hard to say since Dodge always had pretty wild, unique versions of their trucks. But just look at the specs. The 8.2-liter V10 engine with over 500 hp, 0 to 60 times fewer than 5 seconds, and fuel economy in single digits.

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Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Introduced in 2010, SVT Raptor took the pickup world by storm. Never before was there a fully prepared off-road truck available for sale and capable of doing crazy stuff like jumping dunes and running through the desert at high speeds. Although conceived as an off-road beast, the SVT Raptor also had muscle credentials in the form of a 6.2-liter V8 with a whopping 411 HP. The 0 to 60 mph sprint took 6.9 seconds, which is not bad considering the Raptor is designed to run through the jungle, not drag race on the back streets.

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Chevrolet 454 SS

The basic idea behind this model is to offer the biggest available engine in the lightest full-size truck. It was basically muscle car philosophy in truck form. That is why Chevrolet’s engineers took the 1990 Chevy 1500 pickup truck with a short bed option and added a massive 454 V8 engine. The enormous 7.2-liter V8 was good enough for 230 to 255 hp, which was a diminutive number, but it also had 385 lb-ft of torque, which made it really fly down the road.

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Dodge Lil Express Truck

Dodge Lil' Red Express Truck — Photo Credit: Car Domain

The secret of the Lil` Express Truck and its importance lies in the strict rules of the late ’70s, which robbed the V8 engines of their power and vehicles of their performance. However, Dodge found an interesting loophole in regulations that declared that pickup trucks didn’t need catalytic converters. This meant that Dodge could install a more powerful engine and have it breathe easier and deliver more punch than previous models or competitors. And this is how the Lil` Express Truck came to be. Dodge took the standard D Series short-bed truck, added a 360 V8 engine, and stacked big truck-like exhaust pipes behind the doors.

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Ford F-150 Lightning

The Ford F-150 Lightning is a legendary truck. It wasn’t the first muscle truck but it was one of the best and extremely well executed, making the first generation, sold from 1993 to 1995, a true automotive icon. Under the hood was a 5.8-liter V8 with 240 HP and 340 lb-ft of torque, giving the classic F-150 Lightning respectable performance.

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Chevrolet El Camino 454 SS

The Chevrolet El Camino was conceived as a half-car/half-truck vehicle for carrying light loads, delivery duty, and useful tools for small business owners. And most of them lived their lives exactly like that. But in 1970, Chevrolet introduced the wildest El Camino of all, the El Camino SS 454. The mighty 454 V8 LS6 was a 7.4-liter Chevrolet big block engine with an official rating of 450 hp.

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Toyota Tundra TRD Supercharged

Toyota Tundra Trd Single Cab Supercharged — Photo Credit: Pinterest

The Tundra TRD Supercharged is the only non-factory model on our list, but we had to feature it since it is an actual hot road truck. The TRD Supercharger package was available from Toyota dealers for a hefty price tag of over $20,000. Buyers got numerous upgrades for that kind of cash, including the Eaton supercharger, which upgraded the power to a staggering 504 HP. The Tundra TRD, with its newfound power, also has rapid acceleration times, and some reports state that this big truck could see 60 mph in less than 5 seconds, which is very fast indeed.

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Chevrolet Silverado SS

2005 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Ss 001 1280x720 — Photo Credit: GM

Introduced in 2003, the Silverado SS was the spiritual successor of the legendary 454 SS model from the early ’90s. However, it was somewhat more refined and had more power and options. Under the hood was a 6.0-liter V8 that pumped 365 HP and provided sub-7 seconds from 0 to 60 mph. The Silverado SS was on the market from 2005 to 2005 and was produced in 4 colors, making them easy to recognize on the street.

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Ford F-150 Lightning

The new Lightning came in 1999 with the new and totally redesigned generation of F-150 trucks. This time, it was much meaner-looking, aggressive, and packed with much more firepower. Ford installed its 5.4-liter V8 with a supercharger, which was good for 360 hp at first and 380 hp later. Performance numbers were sublime, and the Lightning could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds and top 140 mph. Those figures were more suited to a Porsche 911 of the period than a regular pickup truck that could tow or carry stuff like other F-150s.

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GMC Syclone

In the 1980s, GM experimented with turbocharged engines, which were pretty much in sync with the industry’s trends. GM took an ordinary S10 body shell and installed a 4.3-liter V6 with a turbocharger for 280 hp, a unique 4-speed automatic sourced from a Corvette, and performance-biased all-wheel drive. The power figures don’t sound much these days, but the Syclone was able to sprint to 60 mph in just 5.3 seconds, making it faster than contemporary Ferraris.

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Toyota Tacoma X-Runner

Toyota Tacoma Mk2f Xrunner 2012 1000 0001 — Photo Credit: GR Auto Gallery

Behind this strange name lies quite an interesting vehicle that provides more power than a regular truck and more in handling and driving dynamics. Tacoma X-Runner’s idea is to make a sports car with a truck bed. And it looks like Toyota succeeded. Under the hood is a 4.0-liter V6 with 236 HP, which is not much, but you could order a supercharger and get 305, which is a significant increase.

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Ford F-150 Tremor

This interesting muscle truck is the spiritual successor of the early ’90s Lightning, but when the latest Raptor came out, everybody forgot about this model. The F-150 Tremor was a hot rod F-150 with 365 HP from a 3.5-litre EcoBoost engine. It came with suspension tweaks, unique graphics, and visual improvements. The F-150 Tremor was available as a two- or four-wheel drive version, and its performance wasn’t that good, but Tremor could accelerate from 0 to 60 in around 6 seconds.

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Shelby Dakota

The Dakota was a compact pickup truck from Dodge that was sold between 1987 and 1996. It was dependable, tough looking, and came with various engines and trim levels. However, Dodge wanted more, and in the late 80s, the company conceived a performance version created by legendary Carroll Shelby, who was currently working with Chrysler Corporation. Shelby took the regular production Dakota and installed a 5.2-liter V8 engine with 175 HP.

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Chevrolet SSR

Built on an SUV platform but with a Corvette V8 engine, fold-down hard top, and tight cabin for only two passengers, the SSR was something like a modern hot rod. We have to admit, it looked cool, and it had the glorious soundtrack from a small block V8 with around 400 hp and dual exhaust pipes. The performance wasn’t so impressive, and the sprint to 60 mph took around 6 seconds, but it wasn’t slow either. With the retro design, big wheels, and strange silhouette, it was something different on the street. The SSR was not your typical muscle truck, but it had a V8 and truck bed, so it could be considered one.

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Ram TRX

If you don’t know the TRX, let us put it this way – it’s a cross between the Ram Rebel and Dodge Challenger Hellcat. In other words, it is an all-terrain beast with a supercharged Hemi under the hood and a bad attitude. It has a 702 hp engine under the hood, specially tuned chassis, suspension, and gearbox.

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Best Hot Rod Trucks Ever Made

Dodge D-Series High-Performance Package

Ford Ranchero GT

Dodge Ram SRT-10

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Chevrolet 454 SS

Dodge Lil Express Truck

Ford F-150 Lightning

Chevrolet El Camino 454 SS

Toyota Tundra TRD Supercharged

Chevrolet Silverado SS

Ford F-150 Lightning

GMC Syclone

Toyota Tacoma X-Runner

Ford F-150 Tremor

Shelby Dakota

Chevrolet SSR

Ram TRX

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