If you think that Ford won’t react to Ram’s mind-bending 702-horsepower 1500 TRX, well, you’re wrong. In fact, it’s highly likely that Ford has been brewing this move for quite some time now and a fresh report quoting a “well-sourced informant” says the supercharged V-8 inside the Shelby GT500 is go for the F-150 Raptor.

Let’s take a step back, look at the bigger picture here

Without a doubt, this year’s most prominent reveal in the pickup truck realm is Ram’s bonkers 1500 TRX. Packing a Hellcat supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8 with 702 horsepower at 6100 rpm and 650 pound-feet of torque at 4800 rpm, the TRX (or T-Rex, if you wish) just carved its own niche in the pickup segment.

Now, it’s been discussed before that the cheeky T-Rex reference is a subtle peg at Ford’s F-150 Raptor, which is currently dominated by the 1500 TRX, but not to such a great extent that Ram might want you to believe.

Sure, the F-150 Raptor’s twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6 ‘only’ cranks out 450 horses at 5000 rpm and 510 pound-feet at 3500 rpm - which might fade away in front of the TRX’s hellish performance sheet - but as it turns out, Ford won’t go down without a fight.

The Drive reports that the Blue Oval is dead serious about dropping a V-8 inside the 2021 Raptor and “without a doubt” the leading candidate is the 5.2-liter supercharged V-8 that cranks out 760 horsepower and 625 pound-feet inside the Shelby Mustang GT500.

Word is, according to the same outlet, that inside the Raptor, Shelby’s powerplant will be slightly detuned to produce anything between 725 and 750 horsepower.

This is looking more and more like a boxing match

Let’s take a second step back and put the F-150 Raptor and the 1500 TRX side by side, because Ford’s counterpunch might have the required heft to hurt the TRX in the long run.

As you can see, these two are pretty evenly matched when it comes to off-road prowess. The TRX has a slightly better ground clearance and can haul 110 pounds more than the Raptor, as well as pull extra 100 pounds. Other than that, the differences are marginal.

Basically, it’s the TRX’s engine that makes all the difference. Yet, if Ford fits the GT500’s mill inside the Raptor with the rumored power values, then the Ram’s advantage will count for nothing. Even more, the popularity enjoyed by the Raptor over the past years and its well-cemented icon status might also tip the balance in its favor.

Don’t get us wrong, the TRX looks magnificent on paper and we’re sure it will turn out to be an outstanding muscle truck. We can call it that, right? However, the recipe needs the time to prove its mettle and build a fan base around him, like the Raptor has been doing since its inception.

What’s more, competition is always good. It pushes carmakers out of their comfort zones and ultimately, it’s the customer that benefits from an improved product. That said, we can’t help but ask: where’s GM?