As the EV explosion continues, automakers are all scrambling to get in on the electric fun. New companies are popping up, too. It was thus only matter of time before an electric pickup truck showed up, and thanks to Rivian, that wait is now over.
The ten-year-old American tech and automaker announced their R1T pickup truck at the LA Auto Show about a year ago, and the dirty details about what this truck has to offer have been shaping up over the last year.
On the outside, the Rivian is modern but doesn’t sacrifice its classic “pickup” looks. Instead, it finds a good balance of sleek and aggressive – a balance that should work for both fans of the classic pickup and those who just want a truck for the extra storage space it offers.
Storage space is, incidentally, one of this truck’s major selling points (besides the eco-friendliness). As an EV, it’s got a lot fewer internal components than the inside of a regular pickup truck – which frees up a ton of extra room in the chassis. The chassis is the skateboard-style that new EV’s are known for, and it puts the battery in the flat belly of the car – directly under your feet.
The tiny motors are located at the end of the skateboard, or even in the corners, and take up a fraction of the space that a full combustion engine otherwise would. And the accelerator, brakes and drive control are all electronic and run off wires, eliminating the many mounting points and components those parts require on a regular truck, lightening the load and freeing up a ton more room.
In other words, there is a LOT of extra room in this truck to put some extra storage. Rivian didn’t skip a beat, adding a front trunk in addition to the classic pickup bed, and then incorporating a pass-through storage hatch in the body of the truck right behind the second row.
If you like hauling a ton of stuff but don’t like dishing on diesel, this truck delivers.
As for tech specs, the Rivian R1T promises to offer 300 kW, 562 kW and 522 kW motors, good for 402, 752 and 700 horsepower, respectively. They’ll also pack 560 or 823 lb-ft of torque, and the largest engine will have over 400 miles of range and a top speed of 125mph.
There’s a lot more goodies being promised in this bad boy, and you can see them all over on the Rivian website. We’re not sure we’re ready to give up on the diesel just yet, but we’ll certainly be excited to see the R1T when it debuts.