Pickup trucks have long been sold on towing and payload, yet some were built mostly to be fast. The list below climbs from a 1970s Dodge to the highest-output electric trucks now on sale. Here are twelve pickups that pushed horsepower, ending with a 1,025-hp Rivian R1T Quad.
AI, explained every day: The Deep View is the go-to daily newsletter for 600,000+ founders, knowledge workers and professionals who want to stay up to date with artificial intelligence.
We may earn a commission if you sign up.
1. Dodge Li’l Red Express: Short-Bed Street Sleeper
Hagerty’s muscle truck list credits the Dodge Li’l Red Express with 225 hp during its 1978-79 run, which makes it the bottom rung of this ladder. That number looks modest next to current output, yet it anchors the story of pickups being sold for performance rather than hauling alone.
The truck earned its place by being a factory-built hot rod at a time when most American engines were choked by emissions rules. Its flashy red paint and upright exhaust stacks made the intent obvious to anyone watching it pull away from a stoplight.
2. Chevrolet 454 SS: Big-Block Sport Truck
From 1990 to 1993, the Chevrolet 454 SS made 230 hp, according to Hagerty’s list of muscle trucks. The same source lists a high seven-second 0-60 time, which was brisk for a full-size pickup of that era.
Only five horsepower separate it from the Dodge that came before, so the gain here came from torque and a sporty package rather than a leap in peak output. The black single-cab body, lowered stance and big-block badge defined the look of a muscle truck for a generation of buyers.
3. Ford SVT Lightning: Supercharged Street Truck
Ford’s SVT Lightning built from 1999 to 2004 produced 360 to 380 hp, per Hagerty’s muscle truck rundown, which is a large step beyond the earlier names on this list. The same entry lists a mid five-second 0-60 time.
Two figures appear because output changed during the production run. The jump from the 454 SS shows how quickly forced induction and factory tuning reshaped what a regular-cab pickup could do, and the Lightning name later returned on an electric model.
4. Ford F-150 Lightning: Electric Lightning Returns
The 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning makes 580 hp in iSeeCars’ electric truck ranking. That figure is far above the supercharged gas Lightning that carried the name two decades earlier.
Moving to battery power changed the horsepower conversation, because electric motors deliver output instantly and in large amounts. The comparison across the two Lightnings is a handy shorthand for how the performance ceiling for ordinary full-size pickups climbed, and it is a useful reminder that the badge now stands for a very different kind of truck.
5. Ram 1500 RHO: Hurricane-Powered Off-Roader
The Ram 1500 RHO is listed at 540 hp in SlashGear’s horsepower ranking, which puts it among the stronger modern pickups. It is a high-performance off-road trim of the Ram 1500 that took over the role the TRX had filled.
Power comes from a twin-turbo inline-six, the Hurricane engine, rather than the supercharged V8 of its predecessor. That change shows how truck makers have been chasing performance with smaller, turbocharged engines, and it keeps the RHO a notable step on this horsepower ladder.
6. Ram 1500 TRX: Desert-Running Heavyweight
The Ram 1500 TRX makes 702 hp, according to SlashGear’s modern pickup ranking. That puts it above the Ram RHO that sits lower on the list.
Built as a desert-running performance truck, the TRX shows that gasoline pickups were still climbing the horsepower ladder even as electric rivals arrived. Its place at the 700 mark makes it a clear milestone between earlier muscle trucks and the four-figure electric trucks at the top.
7. Ford F-150 Raptor R: Raptor With Extra Muscle
The Ford F-150 Raptor R makes 720 hp and reached 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, based on SlashGear’s faster-than-Raptor comparison. That combination makes it one of the quickest gasoline pickups on this list.
The Raptor R sits just above the Ram TRX in output, and the two trucks are natural rivals in the high-performance off-road niche. The 3.6-second sprint is the kind of number once associated with sports cars rather than full-size trucks.
8. GMC Sierra EV: Electric Sierra AT4
In AT4 form, the 2025 GMC Sierra EV makes 750 hp, as reported by iSeeCars’ electric truck data. That level of output sits above every gasoline pickup earlier in this list.
The figure is tied to a specific trim, so lesser versions of the electric Sierra make less power. Its position shows how General Motors’ battery trucks moved well past the combustion benchmark set by the Raptor R and TRX.
9. Chevrolet Silverado EV: Silverado Goes Electric
The 2025 Chevrolet Silverado EV in LT and RST trims makes 760 hp, per iSeeCars’ horsepower table. It edges past the GMC Sierra EV AT4 by just ten horsepower.
The Silverado and Sierra EV share electric architecture, so their closeness is expected. Even so, a mainstream pickup name that once meant a basic work truck now appears on a list of high-output vehicles with figures that would have been supercar territory not long ago.
10. Tesla Cybertruck: Stainless Steel Outlier
The Tesla Cybertruck in Cyberbeast form makes 845 hp, and SlashGear’s ranking notes that this is a higher figure than leading offerings from Chevy and Ford. It is the first truck on this ladder to climb well past the 800 mark.
Its angular stainless body is unlike any other pickup here, yet the headline here is the number. The Cybertruck demonstrates that a new entrant could outrun the established truck brands on paper, even as the figure applies only to its top trim.
11. GMC Hummer EV pickup: Four-Digit Hummer
In 3X form, the 2025 GMC Hummer EV makes 1,000 hp, according to iSeeCars’ electric truck list. It is the first pickup on this ladder to reach four figures.
That output is more than four times the Dodge Li’l Red Express that opens the list. The Hummer pairs it with enormous size, and the 3X designation marks the top version rather than every Hummer EV pickup, so lower trims make less power than the figure quoted here.
12. Rivian R1T: Quad-Motor Champion
The range-topping R1T Quad churns out 1,025 horsepower, as SlashGear’s horsepower ranking puts it. That is the highest figure on this list and the reason the headline names it.
Four electric motors, one per wheel, make that output possible. The Quad edges the Hummer EV 3X by 25 hp, and compared with the 225 hp of the Li’l Red Express it is more than four and a half times as much.
AI, explained every day: Get The Deep View →
We may earn a commission if you sign up.
More from Morning Overview
- Seven of Earth’s nine planetary boundaries are breached, and all seven are worsening
- The NSA says three phone features should be off whenever you aren’t using them
- Hurricane Hunter radar shows four warning signs that a tropical cyclone is about to strengthen, a University of Miami study found
- Tropical Storm Rachel is dumping up to 12 inches on four Mexican states on its way to major hurricane strength
