American electric car manufacturer Rivian has begun testing new versions of its R1T and R1S models in real-world conditions. This was announced by the head of the company, Robert Scaringe, adding to the message several photos from the winter roads of New Zealand.
Winter testing our ‘Enduro’ dual motor in New Zealand! pic.twitter.com/4yHBTbd4Dx
— RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe) August 8, 2022
If you remember, at the time of the announcement, the R1T electric pickup and the R1S electric crossover were offered exclusively in versions with four electric motors (one for each wheel). Such a scheme made it possible to improve controllability (thrust vector control system) and perform unusual tricks (tank turn on the spot), but it significantly increased the cost of electric cars.
Financial problems and errors with the scaling of serial production led Rivian to think about a cheaper version of its electric cars. They were officially introduced back in March, announcing that the ‘two-engine’ R1T/R1S will get a new electric motor of its own development, Enduro (it’s these ones that are already put on delivery minivans for Amazon).
As a result, the cheapest Rivian R1T pickup now costs $67,500, which is the Explore Package version, Dual-Motor AWD and Standard Battery with 260 miles (415 km) of range. In turn, the cheapest crossover Rivian R1S will cost the buyer $72,500 for a similar configuration. The cheapest four-engine versions cost $79,500 and $84,500, respectively. Given that under the new rules, the $7,500 rebate for buying an electric car in the US only applies to models under $80,000, this is the right decision.
We will remind that by the end of this year, Rivian plans to collect about 25,000 electric cars, although it has already collected more than 70,000 pre-orders.
