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.

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.