Rivian’s new dual

By Andrew J. Hawkins, transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.

Rivian revealed the range for its new dual-motor R1T, and it surely does not disappoint.

The Dual-Motor and Performance Dual-Motor R1T will have the “best range in our lineup,” Rivian said in a tweet, with an EPA estimated 410 miles when coupled with the company’s Max battery pack and 352 miles with the large pack. That’s all predicated on 21-inch wheels, which surely help propel the R1T to its full range. Range figures for the R1S SUV are still forthcoming, the company added.

Rivian opened up reservations for the Dual-Motor and Performance Dual-Motor R1T back in April. Recently, the company invited a bunch of reporters out to its Normal, Illinois, factory for a test drive (which I sadly was unable to join) as well as to experience its new Enduro drive unit, which is now available across its lineup.

Rivian has been talking about Enduro for its range-boosting qualities for a while now as well as its in-house production, allowing the automaker to save money by eschewing suppliers. And these new figures confirm previous rumors about the range increases, which should go a long way toward establishing Rivian’s electric adventure vehicles as best in class.

The company is in a tight race with the legacy auto industry to produce long-range, high-performance electric trucks and SUVs. And it has first-mover advantage, gaining the distinction of being first out of the gate with the R1T, which first became available in 2021.

Others have since joined the fray, including the Ford F-150 Lightning, but Rivian has been using that time to improve its production cadence. Most recently, the company announced it had tripled its production and deliveries for the second quarter of the year.

But while 350–400 miles of range is plenty for any electric vehicle, that hasn’t stopped other companies from jamming every last morsel of lithium into their upcoming battery-powered trucks in order to achieve the inane status of longest ranger on the road.

Ram, for example, is boasting 500 miles on its long-range version of its Ram 1500 Rev. And while we haven’t had any updated specs in more than a minute, Elon Musk has previously promised a tri-motor setup for the Cybertruck, also with 500 miles of range.

But 400-plus miles was always part of the pitch with Rivian. When the company debuted its truck in 2018, the 400-mile estimated range afforded by the 180kWh Max pack was a big selling point. The large battery pack that comes standard with the trucks gets an EPA estimated range of 314 miles, but for the adventurous off-road crowd Rivian markets to, every additional mile counts.

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