Rivian R1T ELECTRIC Pick-up promises huge performance and range

Rivian R1T ELECTRIC Pick-up

The Rivian R1T is an electric pick-up from US start-up Rivian with a battery pack of up to 180kWh and power of 754bhp.

Rivian may be a US electric vehicle start-up, but it’s taken its time to deliver product – rather than deliver ‘intent’ for the future – spending the last nine years making sure what they offer is deliverable and real. And here it is – the Rivian R1T.

Set to be joined at the Los Angeles Motor Show by a seven-seat R1S SUV, the R1T is built on Rivian’s ‘Skateboard’ modular chassis with a battery pack in the floor, offering 135kWh in standard form and 180kWh in ‘Mega’ guise. A 105kWh entry-level version is also planned.

Four electric motors – one at each wheel – deliver up to 197bhp each for a combined usable output of 745bhp, promising 0-60mph in a scant 3.0 seconds and a range of 300 miles (400 miles with the ‘Mega’ spec battery).

The RiT’s flat floor is reinforced with carbon fibre and Kevlar to protect the batteries, the suspension has air springs and adaptive dampers, and the interior is robust and practical, but with a pair of touchscreens delivering much of the Rivian’s functionality, and with extra storage behind the seats and in the front ‘boot’.

Rivian plan to have the R1T in production in 2020, and it is coming to the UK in 2021. Prices, in the US, are set to start at a bit under £50k.