When the 523kW Ram 1500 TRX (pictured) first roared onto the scene for the 2021 model year, it immediately usurped Ford's 335kW F-150 Raptor as the fiercest off-road pickup money could buy.

To fight fire with fire, Ford cooked up its own 520kW V-8 supertruck, the F-150 Raptor R, which then leapfrogged Ram's top dog when output rose to 536kW.

Before Ram could one-up its chief rival with a mightier TRX, its parent company pulled the plug on V-8 engines.

The Hellcat-powered pickup became extinct soon after and was effectively replaced with the Ram 1500 RHO, though but its 402kW twin-turbo straight-six lacks the primordial roar of its predecessor's supercharged 6.2-litre mill.

It looked like Ford's rowdiest Raptor would rule the realm unchallenged, until the man blamed for the V-8's demise resigned and eight-cylinder evangelist Tim Kuniskis returned from a short-lived retirement to head up Ram. The Hemi V-8 was reintroduced on the Ram 1500, and like clockwork, a resurrected TRX was also confirmed.

There are a handful of these TRX beasts floating around New Zealand, and plenty of Hemi-fanatics who will be watching for the next-Gen beast to land.

Reintroducing a halo model like the TRX brings Ram back to the top of the performance 4WD tree.

Though the TRX has been dead for more than a year, its beefed-up body-on-frame chassis is still used in the RHO.

The 6.2-litre Hellcat engine is likely to be refreshed for the 2026 TRX. The goal must be to trump Ford's Raptor R, which is currently the TRX's only real competition.