Modern performance pickups seem to be all about off-road prowess (even though an old Suzuki Samurai can work much better), but some of the coolest trucks have been street-focused ones. Fox Factory Vehicles has partnered with Mopar Direct Connection to take the Ram 1500 in that opposite direction, turning it into a lean, mean street machine. It’s a modern throwback to the muscle trucks of the 1980s and 1990s, like the Chevy Silverado 454 SS and the pre-electric Ford F-150 SVT Lightning.
This creation has a plainly descriptive name: Ram 1500 Lowered. Its reduced ride height, 3 inches in front and 5.5 inches in back, is the most obvious visual feature of the truck, yet it uses Ridetech adjustable coilovers rather than one of Fox’s own suspension kits. It also has tubular control arms for improved handling and traction bars to reduce wheel hop during acceleration. These modifications, plus 22-inch wheels with wide 305/40 tires, optimize the truck for performance on pavement.
Despite the emphasis on suspension work, this truck’s most significant upgrade is a Whipple supercharger that increases the 5.7-liter Hemi V8‘s output to 650 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. That’s not quite Hellcat territory, but it’s close, and a significant boost over the Hemi’s standard 395 hp. It also gets an upgraded 3-inch into dual 2.5-inch cat-back exhaust with 4-inch black tips that are certain to let that Hemi rumble and roar. A chin splitter, tailgate spoiler, and custom graphics complete the package. You can get all this for a base price of $89,995, including delivery and processing, though this amount may vary by location.
Aftermarket performance with a warranty
The only options are custom leather seats and four-wheel drive to help put all that power to the road. Unlike many high-performance trucks of both on and off-road varieties, the Ram 1500 Lowered doesn’t lose the ability to do truck stuff in the name of performance. It offers a maximum payload of 1,910 pounds and a top towing capacity of 11,320 pounds.
Thanks to its partnership with Mopar Direct Connection, the Ram 1500 Lowered will be available through Ram dealers — there is even a link to Fox Factory Vehicles right on the official Ram 1500 website. Best of all, it comes with the same 3-year or 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty as a stock vehicle off the showroom floor. It also has a reasonable 5-year or 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. While it’s not the 10-year or 100,000-mile warranty Ram now offers on unmodified trucks, it’s a whole lot more than you’d get with an aftermarket supercharger kit, which would be no warranty at all.
It’s also a good deal compared to other similar offerings. Fox Factory Vehicles offers Lowered editions of the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado as well. While priced slightly below the Ram 1500 Lowered, each comes with that truck’s standard V8 engine (5.0-liter Coyote V8 for the Ford, 5.3-liter V8 for the Chevy). Supercharged versions are available, but each pushes the price above $100,000. The Ram is only available in supercharged form for just a few thousand more than the standard engine in the Chevy and Ford. Sure, it costs slightly more than the top-of-the-line Tungsten trim, but this might be the answer if you’re looking for ultimate performance rather than ultimate luxury.
