JoshBryan/ShutterstockIn many people's eyes, the Ford F-150 Raptor is the definitive performance pickup truck. First introduced in 2010, the F-150 Raptor has been through three different generations. The first generation Raptor (2010-2014) used either a 5.4-liter V8 with 310 horsepower or a 6.2-liter V8 with 411 horsepower. The second generation of the F-150 Raptor (2017-2020) introduced the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, which pumped out 450 horsepower.The latest, third-gen Raptor relies on an updated 3.5-liter V6, still making a total of 450 hp. In Car and Driver's testing of the 2026 Ford F-150 Raptor, the truck managed a zero to 60 mph time of 5.2 seconds, with a quarter mile time of 13.9 seconds. Although that may not seem as rapid as something you'd get from a two-door sports car, the F-150 Raptor has a curb weight of almost 6,000 pounds.The Raptor is also equipped with 35-inch tires and is likely one of the best used trucks for off-road enthusiasts. However, it was never really designed for speed as much as it was for all-terrain capability. For those who prioritize speed and performance in a pickup truck, there are a handful of trucks now that leave the standard Raptor in the dust. Whether it be supercharged V8s or multi-motor EV drivetrains, these five pickup trucks are faster than the Ford F-150 Raptor.AdvertisementAdvertisementRead more: Five Common Problems With The Toyota TacomaRivian R1T Quad Motor Max PackRivianIt comes as no surprise that the quickest truck we are going to cover today is electric, and the current truck performance benchmark belongs to the Rivian's R1T Quad Motor Max Pack (R1T QMMP). The R1T QMMP combines four electric motors for a combined 1,025 horsepower and 1,198 lb-ft of torque. Car and Driver's test recorded a 2.6-second 0-60 run and a 10.6-second quarter-mile at 128 mph.Car and Driver noted that such a result was, and still is, the quickest pickup truck acceleration pace they ever recorded. If you need more context to just how fast a 10.6-second quarter mile is, that's the same time MotorTrend recorded for the 2023 Corvette ZO6 and the Ferrari 488 GTB. What is even more impressive is that the R1T QMMP is able to produce such numbers even though it weighs almost 7,000 pounds. That is as much as the ZO6 and the Ferrari 488 combined. The truck starts at $115,990 in Quad trim, and Rivian's Max battery pack carries an 11,000-pound maximum towing rating. Rivian advertises up to 400 miles of range for the R1T Quad Motor in its most efficient Conserve Mode setting. These quad-motor Rivian EVs actually drive like supercars, courtesy of the advanced built-in RAD tuner system.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe RAD Tuner allows owners to dial in the R1T Quad Motor using knowledge Rivian gained through competition, including its runs at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Although the F-150 Raptor may retain an advantage in high-speed desert driving, the Rivian remains highly capable off-road. On pavement, however, the standard F-150 Raptor cannot come close to matching the straight-line performance of the R1T Quad Motor Max Pack.Tesla Cybertruck CyberbeastJetcityimage/Getty ImagesSitting one spot after the Rivian is the truck that dethroned it before getting dethroned right back: the tri-motor Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast pushes out 845 horsepower, also has an 11,000-pound towing capacity, and can kinda drive itself if you are not feeling like it. However, when you do want to take control, be wary of the gas pedal. MotorTrend tested the Cyberbeast when it came out, and the zero to 60 mph time was 2.5 seconds.Since the Cyberbeast came out before the Rivian R1T QMMP, both Car and Driver and MotorTrend called it the quickest pickup truck they ever tested. As far as the quarter mile is concerned, the Cyberbeast managed it in 11 seconds flat, a smidgeon behind the Rivian QMMP, and as quick as a track-focused 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. For a spot of context, the Cyberbeast weighs in at around 6,800 pounds, right around two times more than the GT3 RS.The Cyberbeast is also quicker than all the Hellcat models when it comes to outright acceleration. The Cyberbeast starts at $99,990, after Tesla cut the trim's price by $15,000 in early 2026. It also has a steer-by-wire system that turns lock-to-lock in less than one full rotation of its yoke-style wheel. You can say what you want about the Cyberbeast, but as far as performance goes, it is difficult to not be impressed by something that weighs nearly 7,000 pounds and can still outrun a 911 GT3 RS.GMC Hummer EV PickupWirestock/Getty ImagesSitting right behind the two EV heavyweights is the truck that got there first: the three-motor GMC Hummer EV. This behemoth pushes out a combined 1,000 horsepower and 1,200 lb-ft of torque, and it does that while hauling around a curb weight of more than 9,000 pounds — heavier than three Miatas stacked on top of each other.AdvertisementAdvertisementA Car and Driver instrumented test recorded a 3.3-second 0-60 run and an 11.9-second quarter-mile, using the truck's launch mode, which GMC named "Watts to Freedom" (yes, really). Turn that mode off, and the same truck's 0-60 time drops to a comparatively pedestrian 5.4 seconds, according to a test carried out by MotorTrend — proof that nearly two seconds of the Hummer's advantage lives entirely in one drive mode.For a spot of context, MotorTrend also measured a peak acceleration of 1.14 g (the same as a Lamborghini Huracan STO does in corners), reached in just 0.16 second, which is enough to pin you into the seat before you've had time to register the launch actually happened. The top-spec GMC Hummer EV 3X starts at around $107,995 before options.Nine thousand pounds isn't supposed to move like this, but on pavement, the Raptor doesn't stand a chance against it. Still, when you consider the Hummer EV's value plummeted so much you could get one under $100,000, it is weird to think that the cheapest "pound-for-pound" quickest accelerating car on the market is a 9,000-pound Hummer.Ford F-150 Raptor RBrandon Woyshnis/ShutterstockIf you've grown bored of reading about electric pickup trucks that accelerate as quickly as Italian supercars, the two trucks left do none of that, yet are almost as quick. The Raptor R replaces the standard truck's twin-turbo V6 for a supercharged 5.2-liter "Predator" V8. The Predator V8 traces its roots to the Mustang Shelby GT500, adapted by Ford for truck duty.AdvertisementAdvertisementAt launch the engine made 700 horsepower; a 2024 hood update improved airflow and pushed output to 720 horsepower, with torque holding steady at 640 lb-ft. In Car and Driver's testing, the Raptor R hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and ran the quarter-mile in 12.0 seconds at 112 mph. The magazine called the result "the quickest gasoline-fueled truck we've strapped our test gear on."The Raptor R weighs 6,077 pounds, and it rides on 37-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires rated for only 112 mph, a limitation the outlet noted was capping the truck's quarter-mile trap speed. Underneath, the Raptor R carries 14.1 inches of rear wheel travel and 13 inches up front, along with 13.1 inches of ground clearance.The Raptor R gained roughly 100 pounds of curb weight over the standard Raptor, and both trucks use the same coil-spring rear suspension architecture, retuned with computer-controlled dampers for the extra power. Ford rates the Raptor R's towing capacity at 8,700 pounds, versus 8,200 pounds for the standard Raptor. The Raptor R is an expensive truck though. It launched with a base price of $109,250; current listings put the 2026 model's starting price at $114,420.Ram 1500 TRXDarthart/Getty ImagesThe Ram TRX pairs a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 with 702 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, an engine block shared with the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat before Ram retuned it for truck duty. MotorTrend recorded the old TRX at 4.5-second 0-60 run and a 12.9-second quarter-mile. Underneath, the TRX uses 2.5-inch Bilstein Black Hawk e2 shocks, a design unique to this truck, and offers 13 inches of suspension travel.AdvertisementAdvertisementFront and rear rotors measure 15 inches in diameter. The truck's curb weight sits at 6,440 pounds, and Ram's own specifications list an 8,100-pound towing capacity and a 1,310-pound payload rating. Ram revived the nameplate for 2027 as the SRT TRX, raising output to 777 horsepower and 680 lb-ft of torque, claiming a 3.5-second 0-60 run with a 118 mph top speed — figures that have yet to be independently tested at time of writing.The 2027 RAM TRX starts at $99,995 and is expected to hit tests real soon. Some might even say that the 2027 Ram TRX SRT is expensive and too powerful, but judging where the current metrics stand for some of the pickup trucks on this list, it seems like there are many levels to this game. Even as it stands, it beats the Raptor, both on paper and in real life.How we made this listJoshBryan/ShutterstockThe performance pickup truck market isn't as vast as let's say the performance SUV market, meaning that making this list was not all that too difficult. To make things as grounded and as verifiable as can be, we only used tested metrics by outlets such as Car and Driver and MotorTrend, supplemented by reporting from Fox News Autos, Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, and MotorWeek, while also drawing on manufacturer specifications for figures that don't get independently tested, like towing capacity and payload ratings.Where a truck's number came from the manufacturer rather than a test track — the 2027 Ram SRT TRX's claimed 3.5-second 0-60 time, for instance — we said so explicitly rather than presenting it as an equal to a verified run. We also made sure to go through previous efforts of our own writers on associated topics to make sure our list is as complete as can be.AdvertisementAdvertisementWant the latest in tech and auto trends? Subscribe to our free newsletter for the latest headlines, expert guides, and how-to tips, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on SlashGear.
+71 others
