Here at Roadshow we have been excited about the next Rivian R1T ever since first eyes on at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2018. Since then, the company has had to delay its official launch until 2021 thanks to COVID-19, but that hasn’t stopped engineers from bringing a prototype into the desert in Arizona for some ground antics.
In the video, the Rivian drifts over land, kicking up a good amount of dust ready for the photo. It’s impressive, but it’s easy enough to make everything slide on flat, low-traction surfaces. What’s really cool is the rock tracking section. Here the R1T climbs up a steep, rock-covered hill without difficulty. It is difficult to know if the truck employs a differential lock or if it is a combination of torque vectoring and brake traction control. In any case, the result is the same. The truck handles the medium rocks as if it were nothing.
Climbing rocky hills in Arizona.
Rivian
However, I think the most telling picture in the video is seeing the joy in the engineer’s eyes about his mask as he digs into all that sweet instant electric torque.
So far, all we know about the R1T is that it will have a range of up to 400 miles, a time of 0 to 60 of about 3 seconds, and can wade through water up to three feet deep. An electric motor resides on each wheel –hello the tank spins– and offers a payload ratio of 1,764 pounds and a towing rate of just over 11,000 pounds.
All of that sounds great, and if the video is an indication, the Rivian R1T should be a worthy contender in the desert. However, we will have to reserve judgment until we really have our behind the wheel.
