Drive in reverse in waist-high water, circle-work on sand dunes, high-speed snow and ice driving, mountain climbing…
US EV maker Rivian has dropped a new video montage of the company’s soon-to-be released electric ute smashing a whole bunch of “weekend activities” – as Scott Morrison might call them – and also getting smashed, in a series of crash-test simulations.
The video, posted on Rivian’s Twitter feed literally on the weekend, offers a high-charged preview of what the company’s much anticipated electric utility, or ute, or pick-up, is capable of, as well as the rigours it is being put through before deliveries begin in June.
As the Driven has reported, the Rivian R1T will hit the market with a top battery option of 180kWh, a range of up to 640km and the ability to wade through 1 metre of water, pull 5 tonnes, and various other off-road skills its makers are keen to demonstrate are not the sole province of the R1T’s diesel brethren.
Deliveries begin this June. In the meantime… pic.twitter.com/BsihoqLIVN
— Rivian (@Rivian) February 19, 2021
Rivian opened up the US order page for both its electric ute and the R1S electric SUV in November, starting with and remains committed to the delivery of the “First Edition” of each in June (US pricing starts at $US$67,500).
No word yet for when the utes might go on sale in Australia, or at what cost, but Rivian has said it considers Australia a key market, even despite the Prime minister’s infamous claim that that electric vehicles would “ruin the weekend.”
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.