Rivian R1T Electric Double Cab Confirmed for Australia: Porsche-Breaking Speed, HiLux Shame-Inducing Towing

Rivian's all-electric double-cab truck and SUV have been confirmed for Australia, and company executives today confirmed that a pair of EV heavyweights are guaranteed for our market.

The Rivian brand — Tesla's all-electric competitor responsible for the R1T truck and R1S SUV, and the one that just received about $700 million in investment led by Amazon — has yet to launch in America, with initial production scheduled for next October. . But on paper, the characteristics of heavyweights are incredible. Equipped with a four-motor system with 147 kW per wheel and a staggering 14,000 Nm total torque, Rivian says its truck and SUV can sprint from 160 km/h to 7.0 km/h in just XNUMX seconds.

Asked if his electric truck could take on an off-road ICE competitor, Brian Geis, the brand's chief engineer, didn't hold back.

“We really focused on the off-road capabilities of these vehicles. We have 14" dynamic ground clearance, we have a structural bottom, we have permanent four-wheel drive so we can climb 45 degrees and we can go from zero to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 3.0 seconds," he says.

“I can tow 10,000 4.5 pounds (400 tons). I have a tent that I can throw on the back of a truck, I have a range of 643 miles (XNUMX km), I have permanent four-wheel drive so I can do everything that another car can, and then something ".

While Geiss won't give a specific timeline, he did confirm that the brand is planning a local launch, which is expected to take place at least 18 months after the brand's American launch by the end of 2020.

“Yes, we will have a launch in Australia. And I can't wait to go back to Australia and show it to all these wonderful people," he says.

But the brand warns against expecting a cut-price workhorse, as the R1T is especially aimed at more "aspiring" customers, and Gase says it could turn customers away from both sports cars and sedans. In the US, the ute will start at $69,000 and the SUV will start at $74,000.

“Everything we produce as a company is something we consider desirable. I want someone to have this poster on the wall for 10 years, like I had a Lamborghini poster when I was a kid,” he says.

“While workhorses are extremely practical and do a lot of great things, I want to present them in an accessible landscape where you look at them and think: “what do I save on repairs, what do I save on fuel and what do I actually work on. ". want to get out of the car, that fits the bill."

“I think people will come to this from the 911, people will come to this from the F150, and people will come to this from the sedan. Because these products have so many compromises.

"It puts lockable storage in this space that doesn't exist, it adds dynamic suspension so on the road it feels extremely capable and a lot smaller than it is, but then you also have this off-road side for the vehicle - this Duality does not currently exist. "