It’s the stuff of dreams.
Rivian is, by all accounts, the electric carmaker you’ve probably never heard of. That’s sort of the point: Set up by MIT-grad RJ Scaringe, Rivian was founded back in 2009 and have been working in the darkness to bring about electric cars like the world has never seen. Rather than the overpromise-and-underdeliver styles of Faraday Future and Tesla, which have the knock-on effect of having every blunder blasted to the furthest reaches of the globe, Rivian sort of just put their heads down and got to work.
The only buzz we heard from the company came very recently, when it bought over an unused Mitsubishi production plant in Illinois, USA where they intend to assemble many, many electric vehicles in the future. That was perhaps the first indication that something big was headed our way.
And here it is, that big thing. It’s called the Rivian R1T and it is a ute, in case you didn’t already notice. It’s an electric ute at that, utilising the same skateboard architecture as every other EV manufacturer to ensure modularity and flexibility to develop other cars moving forwards. Back to the R1T, it’s a dual-cab 5-passenger ute with an impressive all-wheel drive powertrain, which instead of using two large motors to run two wheels each, it instead uses four smaller motors, each running one wheel.
Before you walk away, you need to hear the power output. Each motor produces 147kW at the wheel, though the total power output can be configured to anywhere between 300kW and 562kW (input to the gearbox), depending on the battery packs installed in the skateboard. The batteries themselves are monstrous, measuring in at 105kWh, 135kWh, and 180kWh respectively. This then translates to a claimed 370km+, 480km+, and 645km+ ranges, as well as 0-96km/h times as low as 3-seconds.
In a ute.
And make no mistake, this is still very much a functional machine, unlike Tesla’s Model X that is about as off-road capable as a teaspoon. The 135kWh and 180kWh utes offer a whopping 1,150Nm of pulling power, while the 105kWh variant serves up 560Nm which you cannot still scoff at. All three are capable of carrying 800kg of payload, and can tow 5-ton trailers without issue. They’re also capable of off-roading with a ground-clearance of 200mm, though that’s raisable to a maximum of 280mm on some variants. And, this electric ute can wade in water as deep as one metre.
The R1T can also offer amazing levels of fast-charging. It can accept influx current as high as 160kW from fast-charging stations, while an 11kW onboard charger is built-in for charging at home. And knowing that charging cables are heinously expensive and rather easy to nick, Rivian has decided to utilise the space usually taken up by a transmission at the back of the cab and designed in a Gear Tunnel, which is as wide as the R1T, accessible on both sides, and feature locking doors that can also act as side-steps to access the side of the bed.
There’s also an integrated tonneau cover for the bed, as well as a 200-litre sealed bin beneath the bed floor that can be used for just about anything, including stowing a full-size spare. If that isn’t enough utility fear not, as there are also three 110V outlets with more than 400W available at each, on the bed itself. And there is of course, a front-trunk too. For more traditional luggage and such.
Doesn’t end there, either. Being a full-electric vehicle and having to compete with other full-electric vehicles, the R1T also packs a gamut of advanced driver assistance systems fed by cameras, lidar, radar, ultrasonic sensors, and high-precision GPS. The R1T is capable of Level 3 autonomy on the motorway, and will offer a range of self-driving features on delivery in late 2020.
Of course, higher-end models will arrive first before the 105kWh variant, taking a similar approach as Tesla has in the past with its models. The Rivian R1T is said to kick off at US$69k (or just under $100k here), and the reservation book is open. Rivian is currently accepting fully-refundable US$1000 deposits to secure spots in the build schedule.
Now we’re aware that when it comes to utes, many have their concerns when it comes to converting them successfully into usable, zero-emissions propositions. But with as much as 562kW and 14,000Nm on tap, we can’t imagine we’ll hear many naysayers regarding the viability and usability of such a proposition. And of course, the R1T is just the beginning for Rivian, as that capable skateboard will definitely be utilised for various other models that will come later from the brand. In fact…
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