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Rivian R1T and R1S EV
Motor Trend
|February 2019
New electric luxury off-roaders
After nearly a decade in stealth mode, freshman automaker Rivian has burst onto the scene with a pure-electric pickup and three-row SUV it plans to sell in two years.
Putting a modern twist on the old body-on-frame architecture, both the R1T pickup and R1S SUV have their bodies bolted to a common “skateboard” platform. It contains the four motors and transmissions (one per wheel), battery pack, cooling system, and suspension.
The battery pack comes in three sizes: 105 kW-hr, 135 kW-hr, and 180 kW-hr, good for a claimed “230-plus,” “300-plus,” and “400-plus” miles of range for the truck, Rivian CEO and founder RJ Scaringe says. Add 10 miles to each figure for the SUV.
Battery cells are grouped in modules that can be replaced individually if they wear out or are damaged. The pack is protected by a ballistic shield and can handle up to 160-kilowatt charging, which will charge the largest MegaPack to 80 percent in 50 minutes and add 200 miles of range in 30 minutes.
This story is from the February 2019 edition of Motor Trend.
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