5 Of The Cheapest Pickup Trucks With Over 500 HP

With a lot of weight to pull around, it’s only natural that pickup trucks require a healthy amount of power. Typically, with full-size and heavy-duty trucks, that need manifests in the form of low-revving V8s or diesel engines that produce a lot of torque. There are plenty of full-size pickup trucks that make do with numbers in the 200-400 horsepower range, and they’re capable of towing or hauling serious commercial-sized loads. But for drivers who want eye-watering acceleration out of their quad-cab rigs on top of solid towing and hauling capability, there are plenty of pickups with 500 or more horses under their hoods.

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These trucks don’t take “no” for an answer when they show up to the drag racing strip on knobby all-terrain tires and the stewards try to turn them away. For these pickups, maximum acceleration is a top priority right alongside high weight ratings and off-road capability. To narrow things down, this list is composed of the least expensive versions of pickup trucks that top the 500-horsepower mark. To be clear, none of these trucks are what we’d call “cheap.” Cheap implies poorly made, and these rigs are sturdily built, not to mention double or triple the cost of the average American commuter car. With all those caveats in mind, if you’re looking for maximum power in a pickup, this is where it’s at.

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Rivian, the all-electric automaker, certainly has some impressive power figures on display. The R1T pickup truck is currently available in three configurations, with a fourth on the way. The R1T quad-motor, which Rivian says is coming in 2025, has 1,025 hp and an astonishing zero-to-60-mph time of just 2.5 seconds. Off the line, you’ll leave almost every sports car on the road in your EV dust. The R1T tri-motor offers slightly less power, but it’ll still get going in quite a hurry with 850 hp. The Dual motor? Yup, it’s got plenty of juice too – as much as 665 hp for the stylish pickup truck. 

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None of those top trims are required to cross the 500-horsepower mark for the R1T, though. The base trim, known as the Dual Standard, has 533 hp and will sprint to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds. With standard all-wheel drive and an EPA-estimated range of 270 miles on a single charge, the base R1T has an MSRP of $71,900. At that price, the cost of each individual horsepower is $134.90. It’s worth noting though, that no matter what trim level you go with on the R1T, it still feels like a pretty premium product. 

The Ram RHO is the spiritual successor to the Ram TRX. In case you’ve got a terrible short-term memory, the TRX was the Raptor-fighting, off-road-dominating full-size pickup that used the Hellcat engine to deliver 702 horses of supercharged fury directly to a dirt road near you. Naturally, without the Hellcat engine to give it thrust, the RHO delivers a much milder number, but it’s no slouch.

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Under the hood, the Ram RHO comes exclusively with a turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six engine that produces 540 horsepower and 521 pound-feet of torque. According to Ram, that’s enough power to get it from zero to 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds. Max payload and towing capacity are respectable for a full-size pickup, at 1,520 pounds and 8,380 pounds, respectively. Off-road upgrades like long-travel suspension, Bilstein shocks, and 35-inch tires are all part of the package, with an MSRP of $70,990 (including $1,995 destination fee). That’s a far cry from the base Ram 1500 Tradesman’s MSRP of $44,275, but amongst the 500-hp crowd, it’s not bad. Price per horsepower for the Ram RHO (when you include destination fees): $135.16.

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The Ford F-150 Lightning is the electric version of the best-selling pickup truck. The gasoline-powered F-150 is known for its towing and hauling capabilities, its spacious passenger areas, and in recent years, lots of in-cabin tech features. The F-150 Lightning doesn’t shy away from those virtues either, with a maximum towing capacity of 10,000 pounds and a maximum payload capacity of 2,000 pounds. The F-150 Lightning is available with a number of different power ratings, battery sizes, and associated price points.

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Base models like the XLT, with the standard range battery, have 452 hp and a starting MSRP of $65,785 (including $2,095 destination fee). To get above 500 horsepower, you’ll need to upgrade to the extended range battery. That puts the power rating at 580 hp in mid-level trims like the Flash. MSRP for the Flash trim is $63,535 (including destination fees); so not cheap, but certainly a lot of power and capability for the cash. Divide $70,785 by 580 horses and you get a price of $109.54 per horsepower.

Ford’s various Super Duty pickup trucks are no strangers to towing heavy loads, and they do that with big power from four available engines. The standard Super Duty powerplant is a massive 6.8-liter gasoline-powered V8 that makes 405 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque. Call that engine large, though, and Ford’s optional 7.3-liter V8 with 430 horsepower and 485 pound-feet of torque will quickly step in and tell you, “hold my beer.” The titans of torque, however, are Ford’s Power Stroke diesel engines. The standard Power Stroke turbocharged diesel V8 produces 475 horsepower and 1,050 pound-feet of torque while the High-Output version of the same engine makes 500 horsepower and 1,200 pound-feet of torque. If you’re interested in that specific engine, it’s available in all three configurations of the Ford Super Duty: The F-250,  F-350, and F-450, although each of those trucks will cost you progressively more money.

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In the base F-250 XL trim, the high-output diesel V8 is a $12,995 stand-alone option, contributing to a base price of $60,290 (including $1,995 destination fee). That’s the lowest price of the Super Duty bunch — with the High Output engine, the F-350 XL is $61,585 and the F-450 XL is $64,950. With the F-250, you’re paying a reasonable $120.58 per horsepower.

Big on power, big on capability, and just plain old big, the Chevy Silverado EV is an impressive entry into the electric pickup truck segment. Its impressive range is a plus, as is the access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. According to Chevrolet, base LT Extended Range models can go as far as 408 miles on a single charge while max-range WT versions of the Silverado EV can go as far as 492 miles. That extra mileage is pretty expensive though, as max-range versions of the Silverado EV demand a serious price premium over standard models. Chevy says that the Standard Range WT, for example, will have an MSRP of $57,095 (including $2,095 destination fee) when it ships to customers later this year. The Max range version of that same trim however, is a whopping $77,795; that’s quite a difference.

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Thankfully, if Chevy does deliver these base trims by the end of 2025, you won’t have to go with the most expensive version of the Silverado EV to cross over the 500-horsepower mark. Base WT models will have 510 horses to go along with that $57,095 price. Mid-level LT and RST 2SP models will offer 645 horsepower, and the topped out RST 3SP will have a whopping 760 horses. What are you paying per horsepower? With the WT it’s $111.95 for every individual horsepower, and with the RST Max Range that number increases to almost $128.81 per horsepower.