The Ford Maverick Hybrid is more-or-less the platonic ideal of a small pickup truck in 2024. It’s efficient, practical, reasonably priced, and offers a great balance of sensibility and capability. However, what if you wanted to spend similar money and go in the complete opposite direction? What if you wanted to end up on a Greenpeace list, lay elevenses for blocks, and arrive home from Lowes having completely destroyed whatever you put in the bed? Say hello to the Dodge Ram SRT-10, a glorious moment of insanity.
I believe I speak for all of us when I say that I miss street trucks. Sure, they don’t make a ton of sense objectively as trying to get a pickup truck to handle on tarmac is like trying to guide a recalcitrant bull up a fire escape, but there’s just something cool about going fast and hauling plywood at the same time, the ultimate test of ratchet straps.
If the nostalgia machine’s been ratcheting up your interest in street trucks once again, I have some good news. Both the Maverick I talked about earlier and a Ram SRT-10 can be had for similar coin. Ain’t depreciation beautiful?
What Are We Looking At?
Before us today sits the baddest-assest pickup truck ever sold with a warranty. Look, the decade that brought us Freedom Fries isn’t exactly known for a zeitgeist of making sane decisions, so hey, why not cram the V10 engine from a Dodge Viper into a half-ton pickup truck?
To fit this monstrous engine into a Ram, Dodge changed the exhaust manifolds, oil pan, oil pickup, water neck outlet, throttle linkage, motor mounts, and wiring harness, then slightly modified the Viper upper idler pulley boss to accept a wiring clip. That’s it. The result was 500 horsepower and 525 lb.-ft. of torque, and regular cab models backed that up with a Tremec T-56 six-speed manual transmission. While Car And Driver instrumented acceleration figures of 4.9 seconds from zero-to-60 mph and a 13.6-second quarter-mile run at 105 mph aren’t quite in the same league as today’s electric pickup trucks, a top speed of 154 mph makes this the fastest stock mass-produced pickup truck in the world. Boom. Also, the job of road-testing the Ram SRT-10 when it was new fell on John Phillips and Brock Yates, so we ended up with one of the most unhinged road tests of all time, with the most publishable excerpt being:
Listen, I’ll admit to liking the SRT-10’s steering—accurate, even light, which is amazing, because those 22-inch Pirellis (what’s that, a “dub plus two”?) must each weigh about as much as Orson Welles. And the clutch is lighter than I expected, although I still can’t depress the pedal through an entire red light.
The bottom line? This thing went in one direction, fast. Although a four-doored quad-cab variant with an automatic transmission came along later, you really want the fully mental regular cab short bed model with a manual gearbox, and lucky for you, it’s still possible to pick one of these things up for sensible coin.
How Much Are We Talking?
When I said these things go for Ford Maverick money, I wasn’t kidding. A 2024 Ford Maverick XLT Hybrid, the mid-range hybrid trim, stickers for $29,410 including freight. If you want a driver-spec Ram SRT-10, you might even be able to score one cheaply enough to budget in shipping and still spend less than a new mid-range Maverick hybrid. This one sold on Bring A Trailer earlier this week for $24,500, and from the looks of things, there’s nothing obvious wrong with it aside from a scuffed bumper and some stains inside the bed. Sure, it has 100,000 miles on the clock, but it has a clean Carfax, its brakes have been recently serviced, and it’s a Georgia truck, so the underbody almost looks showroom fresh.
Oh, and here’s another black regular cab Ram SRT-10 that went for cheap, hammering for $23,500 on Bring A Trailer last month with 73,000 miles on the clock. Are there any downsides aside from the questionable aftermarket taillights? Sure. There’s a minor hit on the Carfax with a damage estimate of roughly $89, and this truck’s been just about everywhere, having registration history in Texas, Colorado, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Arkansas, South Dakota, and Minnesota. It’s in Canada where the conversion from miles to kilometers confused Carfax, as a service center entered the mileage in kilometers instead of miles, which means a call to Carfax is likely necessary to sort that flag. However, as something to keep, that’s not a dealbreaker, and it kept the price of this one low.
Not a fan of black trucks? It might take some time, but Ram SRT-10s with paint colors that are easier to keep clean do pop up now and then for Maverick money, such as this 2004 model that hammered last year on Hemmings for $28,351 including buyer’s fees. Interestingly, it failed to sell on Bring A Trailer and was then listed on Hemmings Auctions, which proved to be the right call for the seller. With just 67,374 miles on the clock and a clean Carfax, it’s surely brought some fun to its new owner’s life.
What Can Possibly Go Wrong With A Ram SRT-10?
Well, other than the financial implications of getting as little as eight MPG, not much. In stock form, these are exceptionally reliable trucks, and they don’t cost an arm and a leg to maintain either. While a handful shipped with loose harmonic balancers, that issue would’ve reared its head exceptionally quickly, and just about every truck that doesn’t have delivery mileage on it will have seen that potential issue tended to. These days, a more common issue with age is leaky oil cooler lines, but you can pick up a set of braided lines from The Viper Store for $309. Yep, the most common issue is a typical old car leak, which is great news for anyone looking to pick one up.
Should You Buy A Dodge Ram SRT-10?
Oh hell yeah. Look, a muscle truck that sucks this much gas isn’t for everyone, but it’s hard to imagine a better straight-line smiles-per-dollar deal than one of these. They’re fast, absurd, reliable, and come with a freaking 8.3-liter V10 under the hood. I’m honestly amazed they aren’t more expensive, because as long as you can keep the tank filled, the Ram SRT-10 is one hell of a ride.
(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer, Viper Parts of America, Hemmings)
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My dad had one of these for a few years during covid. Red single cab, short bed. With the decal on the bedsides. I think it had 20 something thousand miles on it. Super clean. Of all the stupid shit he buys, I was fully behind him on that one. It was a really fun truck and drove better than you’d expect. It even had a metal “world’s fastest truck” plaque on the dash.
Which was the only quality material in the interior. Plastic everythaaaaang. The tech consisted of a radio and headlights.
But I did respect that it was a super basic truck that happened to have a massive engine for no good reason ‘cept AMERICA.
Which one, this or the maverick will cost less to repair over the next 10 years?
Are we factoring in the warranty and/or depreciation? The Ram is probably at the bottom of its depreciation curve, so you can sell it for what you bought it for, give or take a couple grand for miles, but the Maverick is under warranty, so maintenance should be free for a time.
I reckon if you wanted to keep it for just a couple years, you’d lose the same amount on the way out between the Ram’s maintenance and the Maverick’s depreciation, assuming the Ram goes through a couple sets of tires (as it should) and a few regular old-car wear items such as ball joints, bushings, engine mounts, maybe a clutch.
If you’re keeping them for 5-10 years, then I think the Ram wins just by being a big under-stressed pushrod manual instead of a hybrid with a CVT.
But really, it doesn’t matter because the cost of fuel and insurance will outweigh the maintenance/depreciation difference ten-fold, you don’t buy an 8L V10 to save money.
I agree the RAM would be cheaper in the long run to repair but may need more in the short term. I was not worried about depreciation and that is why I asked only about repair, I could not give a rat’s a$$ about depreciation, I love cars to drive not as depreciating assets, I own them until I junk them.
This engine likely has the lowest maintenance costs of any 500+ hp engine ever sold.
Cubic inches are the easiest, cheapest and most reliable way to make HP, so those 488 cubes aren’t stressed very hard to make 500HP
I get that, I don’t mind depreciation either, I just imagine that if I was in the market for a thrifty hybrid truck I’d probably be the kind of person that cares at least a little about resale value, so I tried to put myself in those shoes rather than in my own.
That said, I also don’t care much about parts/service costs for the same reason, which is why I presumed (incorrectly) that someone who does care about maintenance costs would also consider resale.
Wait, it’s neither German nor unreliable???? Well done Thomas!!!!
How much of my money would I pay for this?
Arnie voice: All.
With the price of used trucks these days, and lack of anything but crew cabs in that used truck market, I’m half tempted to buy one of these for hauling wood and mulch for home projects and get a speeding ticket in the process.
This truck takes me right back to my brother and I fighting over the newly delivered Motor Trend. Gawking at the stupid horsepower of the day. Seared into our brains are the 1992 Viper GTS, the 90s era Porsche 911 with that whale tail spoiler and the 1990 Mazda Miata. What a lineup.
July 4th 2005. I had a 2-door manual SRT-10 on loan from DaimlerChrysler for the long weekend (I worked for one of their marketing agencies at the time). I took some of the neighborhood kids joy riding up and down 8-mile because it was the right thing to do. Only got pulled over twice — with two warnings. After an hour or so of signing my name in rubber all over Baseline road, I drove it home and went inside to play video games. 20 mins later the neighbor kid was knocking on my door to tell me that someone was trying to jack it from the driveway – at 2pm in broad daylight. Turns out they, too, were impressed with the hourlong burnout show and followed me home to try and get some personal seat time of their own. They managed to break the window and punch out part of the steering column, but were apparently stumped with the (novelty at the time) push button starter. I figured they’d come back for more — and they did — right around midnight. But a different neighbor’s parents were out of town and the high school girl that lived there decided to throw a house party. Amidst the commotion, the would-be thieves got distracted, went two doors down to check out the party, and proceeded to go inside! I went over the next day to see if she could tell me anything about them, but she denied a party ever took place. Just like I denied that I knew what happened to the truck when it was time to turn it back in after the holiday break.
Damn, now I want one all over again.
I had a Japanese co-worker who stated if he came state-side for any point of time he wanted a truck. I said “oh, Japanese truck”
He said “No, if I am in America – I want most American truck, but I prefer manual”.
This was the only answer. He never came. I was bummed.
I’d rather have the Maverick, and with the bigger Ecoboost it’s not that much slower. The very tall bluff front end combined withe the SWB makes the SRT look stubby and kinda goofy / cartoonish to my eyes.
Then you missed the point. It’s like saying you’d rather take a new Camry over a Viper for the same price. Being a car enthusiast means making those bad decisions because you chose emotion over sensibility.
Being a car enthusiast means liking what you like.
I get the point and why someone would want an SRT, just offering a counterpoint.
The SRT-10 stock is 3 seconds faster than the fastest Maverick in the Quarter mile and has the higher top speed, so No the Little pickup from Ford is indeed slow.
It’s not slow, just slower. Would still take the Maverick.
Yeah, I love the SRT-10’s and want to get one eventually
Back in my Chrysler days, I had the opportunity to borrow one of these for a weekend. By the time the 2005 models had been around for a while, sales really slowed down and it reached the point where dealers wouldn’t accept allocation on them! One of the zone service reps was given a 2005 Commemorative Edition (white w/blue Viper-style stripes) regular cab 6-speed as his field vehicle and told to put a few thousand miles on it before it goes to auction as a used vehicle. The service rep needed a regular truck to haul wood around (he was building a deck at home), so he traded us for one of the ordinary Ram trucks at my training center for a couple of weekends. He didn’t want to scratch up the bed on the SRT-10. The truck was a trip. Burnouts whenever you like. Cruising at highway speeds in 6th at 1100 rpm. Other shenanigans. I liked the Viper engine in a Viper a LOT more than in a pickup truck, but it was fun for a weekend.
FYI: The regular cab SRT-10s are NOT rated for towing, due to the Viper 6-speed transmission. The Quad Cab trucks all came with the 48RE automatic and as such do have a trailer tow rating. This caused some heartburn when the trucks were new, since some Viper owners wanted to tow their Vipers (on a trailer) with their new regular cab, 6-speed SRT-10 Rams.
About the same price and not too far off in size, either, strangely.
https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/ford-maverick-2021-4-door-pickup-vs-dodge-ram-2010-pickup-1500-regular-cab/?&units=imperial
The Quad-Cabs only had the automatic so that’s a big no. But the regular cabs are prettier and more bonkers and absolutely on the bucket list. Still want the RT/10 first though.
One of these popped up on my local Craigslist earlier this week. It was a red quad-cab version with 100k on it for $19k. I mentioned to my wife “Check what is on Craig…” when she cut me off with “Don’t you dare!” Fortunately for my wife, the listing was gone the same day.
Damn, ruined by the very intelligence and qualities that attracted you to her!
Indeed. Hard to be upset with her when part of the reason I married her is that she could keep me in check.
In normal conversation people toss around the term “fuel economy” numbers, but knowing people who’ve owned trucks with this engine (SRT10 or 2500 versions): the term is only “fuel consumption” and at a rate you didn’t think possible in modernity for a mainstream branded vehicle.
Mine got 8 mpg at all times. With a feather touch and skip shifting 1-4th gear maybe got 13mpg.
One colleague noted that his 2500 with the V10 achieved a shade off from 1litre-per-km consumption rate (~2mpg) when hauling a full load in the bed.
Oh man this takes me back!! I had one of these about 8 years ago just like this but red. It was a blast, Big, loud and very cool. Bought off eBay, flew to Texas and drove it back to NY. Could lay down rubber at almost any moment and only had ABS as the lone “safety” feature. I decided to get rid of it when I was going a little under 100mph on the NJ Turnpike and hit a big pothole. The truck wandered from the left lane all the way across 5 lanes of traffic to the shoulder and almost hit the guardrail. Thankfully the highway was empty, It was the most white knuckle moment I have ever had! Thought I had broken something but nope just solid live rear axle, empty pickup bed, big unsprung weight from huge stock tire and wheel setup plus excessive speed was a bad combo. It also got 8mpg regardless of highway or city driving. My local gas station knew me well!
I’m surprised prices aren’t much higher than 10-12 years ago. I almost considered one of these but went with the CTS-V. It’s a bad ass american truck, totally dig these.
I have an 05V. Bought it in 2012. It’s my garage queen and I daily a Raptor. Best of both worlds. I do like this truck though. I also like 4wd and the ability to land a jump. . .
Wow, you and I are not too different. I also got my 05V in 2012, and I daily a Ra….RAM. Not a TRX but a lowly Laramie – with a 3″ lift & 34s, cant jump it 🙁
But the V is such a cool car, rarely see a V1. In 2012 I did cam, headers, tune etc and it’s just perfect. I only drive it 5-6 months of the year so only have 81k on it.
I’m at 57k and barely do a few hundred per year anymore. Factory cam, but B&B headers and exhaust and a bunch of bushings in the rear.
That’s what I love about pickups. The range and diversity of choices. This was the Pickup Diablo of the day.
I thought the Viper V10 was originally a truck engine. Do I remember that from typical Clarkson Hyperbole?
It’s a common misconception that automotive media has done little to dispel, because they delight in denigrating the Viper engine as “crude” or “truck-like”, but the Viper engine came first and shares virtually nothing with the iron block Ram HD V10.
It was also designed by engineers in Detroit, not by Lamborghini.
I was hoping you’d be the one to answer my call!
That does and doesn’t make sense from an engineering standpoint. A truck and sports car have very different design parameters. OTOH, spending resources on two V10s both to end up in a truck, anyway, is a wild Chrysler move.
In fairness, it’s not as if they’re completely independent; both were developed out of the LA V8.
Basically I see them as similar to the LS family being used in both trucks and sports cars, or Ford using the 5.0 in the F150 and Mustang. Individual parts don’t usually interchange, but the shared development is there.
NB: All the above is true of the 90s iron block V10 only. The SRT-10 engine is as close to a direct swap as is possible.
I recall being told by someone that worked at Chysler Engineering HQ it was designed by Chrysler but Lamborghini did a lot of development work to smooth out the NVH.
If so, they didn’t do a very good job of it haha.
The only thing I know for a fact Lamborghini helped on is sharing experience with casting large aluminum blocks. Something they had done a lot of, and Chrysler had not.
Yeah, the V10 is not smooth, and was a turn off from the otherwise impressive experience of driving a 3rd Gen Viper GTS coupe, but apparently, it was way worse before Lamborghini got involved.
“ like trying to guide a recalcitrant bull up a fire escape”
Oh that’s nothing compared getting one to go down a fire escape. Generally that would involve causing enough distress to overcome the dislike of going down some steps, and then you have a very pissed off bull.
I grew up on a dairy farm with some very expensive breeding bulls that could knock over utility polls if they had five feet to get up to speed.
It’s cool, it’s wild, looks great, sounds great, and goes like stink. What’s not to like?
8mpg @ $4/g
True, but if you buy a truck like that, my guess is you don’t really care.
I was very close to picking one of these up about 6 years ago. Price hasn’t changed a bit since then.
All I remember is the front bumper cover sucks and gives it a terrible underbite, but there are aftermarket ones that can fix that. The clutch is heavy. And it will absolutely smoke its rear tires at any moment, in any gear, with a stomp of the gas pedal.
Maybe I should consider buying one now…
Gas mileage doesn’t matter as much for weekend toys, I’d buy anything with a viper engine
Most of these you could have for stories the older choice is foolish. But the Viper powered Ram is actually fairly solid and reliable. They are holding the same value too. Not horrible choice.
These haven’t changed in price for about a decade, it seems. I remember getting one in at my work ~10 years ago and we had it listed for about $25K if memory serves.
They also have some of the heaviest clutch pedals I’ve yet experienced in a “consumer” car. Your left leg won’t need “leg day”.
But what a lovely noise they make.
If the price hasn’t changed in a decade, then considering inflation, values have technically decreased.
Indeed, but considering the normal depreciation for Mopar vehicles, that’s not too bad. They also might be at a nadir of valuation and could start going up.