Electric startup Rivian has been busy showing that electric vehicles do not only “ruin the weekend”, but in fact can make a weekend away in the great outdoors even easier.
At the adventure travel Overland Expo held in Arizona this weekend, the Michigan-based startup displayed its R1T all-electric ute (or pickup as it is known in the US), replete with pull-out electric-powered kitchen, doing away with the added hassle of taking firewood or gas bottles for cooking.
This is the beauty of an electric vehicle, which carries its own power source in the form of its EV battery.
And in the case of the Rivian R1T (sister to the startup’s R1S SUV), it’s a pretty impressive amount of power – buyers will have the option to choose from three sizes of batteries from 105kWh to 180kWh according to the EV maker.
Hidden away in a space between the cabin and the tray, a specially-designed unit pulls out from the side “gear tunnel” to reveal a camp kitchen complete with stove, space for water and a sink, and even somewhere to heat the kettle.
“We’ve cooked up a mobile kitchen prototype that showcases just one of the many ways to utilize the extra storage space in the #R1T. It features 2 induction burners, a sink, 5 gallons of water storage and keeps all your cookware and utensils organized while you’re out in the wild,” wrote the EV maker on Twitter.
We’ve cooked up a mobile kitchen prototype that showcases just one of the many ways to utilize the extra storage space in the #R1T. It features 2 induction burners, a sink, 5 gallons of water storage and keeps all your cookware and utensils organized while you're out in the wild. pic.twitter.com/qsVXZUvCw8
— Rivian (@Rivian) May 17, 2019
Alongside the tray-back tent created by Tepui Tents, and the rugged specs of the R1T which Rivian says will carry up to 800kg, pull up to 5 tonnes and can wade through a metre of water, the option of a Rivian kitchen has got to rouse the interest of even the hardest of weekend warriors.
It deftly lays aside yet again the claim that electric vehicles will “ruin the weekend” as so ignominously claimed by newly re-elected prime minister Scott Morrison.
In fact, Rivian, who have received $US500 million ($A713 million) backing in recent weeks from American auto giant Ford and before that $US700 million ($A980 million) from online retail giant Amazon, have a serious eye on Australia’s weekend, with both CEO RJ Scaringe and chief engineer Brian Gase having already confirmed that Rivian has pegged Australia as a key market.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.