STRAIGHT-LINE SCREAMER; Viper-powered Ram tops the pickup field. For now.(Auto File)

In the land of big bad trucks, the 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 is the biggest and baddest of all. No, it won't climb rocks with the Hummers, or ford streams with the F-150s, or tow like a Silverado. But pick a straight line-anywhere, anytime-and it will beat most everything through the first quarter-mile like no factory-built truck ever.

SRT-10's forte is the hard-charging power from its ballyhooed trio of 500s: 500 hp, 525 lb-ft of torque, 505 cubic inches (that is 8.3 liters for you metric types). The monster V10 engine, borrowed from the Dodge Viper SRT-10, sends its prodigious power via a six-speed manual tranny to the 22-inch rear wheels.

The suspension, lowered one inch in the front and 2.5 inches at the rear, is custom tuned and fitted with new front and rear strut assemblies, Bilstein monotube shocks, performance-tuned springs, a rear antiroll bar and a stiffer front antiroll bar. Add some aerodynamic effects, including a rear wing that Dodge says magically provides a reduction in lift without creating additional drag, and this rig is ready for high-speed running.

And run it does. In our track testing the Ram SRT-10 lived up to Dodge's acceleration claims, posting a 5.02-second 0-to-60-mph time and a 13.62-second quarter-mile at 102.8 mph. While not as quick as the last Viper we tested (4.42-second 0-to-60, 12.48-second quarter-mile at 116.9), it does best an Aston Martin Vanquish, at least to 60 mph. On the truck side the closest competitor is the Porsche Cayenne Turbo (5.16-second 0-to-60, 13.72- second quarter-mile at 102.6). The more obvious competitor, Ford's F-150 SVT Lightning, boasts a 5.8-second 0-to-60 time and a 13.9-second quarter-mile at 100 mph, according to the manufacturer. The Ford also held the speed record for production pickups at 147.71 mph until the SRT-10 notched a 154.58-mph top speed six months later. No matter how you slice it, this Ram is quick, against the top performance trucks on the road as well as the "normal'' production offerings-Dodge's own Hemi Ram included.

We'd say that's enough about straight-line speed, but we should offer this caveat: Yes, the SRT-10 is more than capable of ...