Rivian's Electric Truck and SUV

Rivian's Electric Truck and SUV Are Built to Tackle the Great Outdoors

Both vehicles can accelerate from zero to 60 in three seconds flat, and can reach 100 mph in under seven seconds.

By Kraig Becker
RIVIAN

While Tesla hustles to get its Model 3 production up to speed, there’s a new electric vehicle company strutting its stuff at the LA Auto Show this week. That’s where upstart Rivian is unveiling an all-electric pickup truck and SUV, both of which have been built from the ground up with the outdoors in mind.


Rivian’s five-passenger pickup truck is dubbed the R1T, while its SUV is called the R1S. Both are built on the company’s “skateboard” platform, which places the battery pack and drive units, as well as the suspension, braking, and thermal systems, below the height of the wheels. This approach gives the vehicles a much lower center of gravity, which theoretically improves stability and handling both on and off road. It also allowed Rivian’s designers to get creative with the truck’s and SUV’s cabin space, providing more room for passengers and gear.

BOTH VEHICLES CAN ACCELERATE FROM ZERO TO 60 IN THREE SECONDS FLAT

Because they share the skateboard platform, the R1T and R1S offer similar levels of performance. Rivian says that both vehicles can accelerate from zero to 60 in three seconds flat, and can reach 100 mph in under seven seconds. That performance is a result of the skateboard’s quad-motor system, which delivers 147 kW of power to each wheel independently giving the R1T and R1S 3500 Nm of grounded torque per wheel, which translates into a tow rating of more than 11,000 pounds for the pickup truck.

While off-the-line power is always impressive and handy to have at your disposal, range is the paramount concern. Initially the vehicles will have two battery sizes available including a 180-kWh option that offers more than 400 miles of range on a single charge. Customers can opt to go with a lower-cost 135-kWh battery instead, which provides a 300-plus-mile range. A third option providing 105 kWh and a range of 230-plus miles will be added to the lineup within six months of launch. All of the batteries are designed for fast-charging of up to 160 kW, which can add as much as 200 miles of range in just 30 minutes.

Off-road performance isn’t the only way Rivian is aiming its electric vehicles to the outdoor crowd. For instance, the pickup has a hidden storage compartment called the Gear Tunnel that sits between the cab and the bed of the truck. The tunnel runs across the entire width of the vehicle, providing 350 liters of storage space. That’s enough room for a set of skis, a snowboard, a golf bag, or other similarly long items. Access is on either side of the R1T through concealed doors that fold out of the side of the truck. When open, those doors also serve as a step, allowing owners to stand on them while accessing roof racks or other roof-top storage systems.


RIVIAN

Both the truck and the SUV also include a 330-liter front trunk (a.k.a. frunk), which is big enough to hold a full-size cooler and a couple of daypacks, with room to spare. The frunk, which is accessed via a fully powered hood for automated opening and closing, even has enough space for two pieces of large luggage.

The R1T also ships with a watertight integrated tonneau cover that slides off and on the bed at the push of a button. This feature helps to secure the cargo space and provides better aerodynamic performance while on the road, too. The bed is equipped with two locking cables that Rivian calls the Gear Guard to secure important items, like a bike or a toolbox. Once activated, a camera in the bed monitors the Gear Guards closely, setting off an alarm if anyone attempts to tamper with the cargo.

TO PRESERVE BATTERY LIFE IN THE COLD THE SYSTEM CAN ADJUST ONBOARD HEATING ELEMENTS.

While definitely rugged and tough, these electric adventure vehicles happen to be pretty smart too. Not only will they ship with Level 3 self-driving capabilities (hands-off wheel and eyes-off road), Rivian has also baked in machine learning functionality as well. This allows the R1T and R1S to track how and where they are driven and adjust their performance for added efficiency on and off road. That data is uploaded to a cloud-based ecosystem for processing and management, allowing the vehicles to tune performance on the fly based on conditions. For example, in order to preserve battery life in extremely cold environments the system can detect outside temperatures and adjust onboard heating elements appropriately.

The R1T had its official coming-out party at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angles on November 26, while the R1S was shown off the following day prior to the start of the LA Auto Show. Unfortunately, those eager to get their hands on one of these adventure vehicles are going to have to remain patient for a bit longer. Final pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but deliveries of Rivian’s electric pickup are set to begin in late 2020, while the R1S SUV will follow along closely in early 2021.