First Production Rivian R1T Rolls Off the Line
The Rivian R1T is a very promising electric pickup, and we’ve been hearing and reporting about it for more than two years now. Unfortunately, development and production hit a few snags—not just because of the pandemic and global chip shortage—pushing the first customer deliveries to this month.
Today, however, after months of building pre-production vehicles, the very first production R1T rolled off the line in Normal, Illinois. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe made the announcement via Twitter and he’s the one seen behind the wheel on the pictures.
- Also: Watch: All-electric Rivian R1T Doesn’t Fear Water
- Also: Rivian Announces 3,500 Fast-Chargers, Canada is Included
You can imagine the relief among company employees as well as customers who are eagerly waiting for their unit to arrive. Naturally, our neighbours south of the border will be served first.
In Canada, deliveries are scheduled to begin in November for the Launch Edition ($97,250), which is already sold out. Explore ($90,000) and Adventure ($97,250) models will follow in January 2022.
The Rivian R1T is powered by four electric motors generating up to 750 horsepower and 829 pound-feet of torque. It sprints from 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in just three seconds and has a maximum towing capacity of 11,000 pounds. Range is estimated at 480 or 640 kilometres depending on the battery, with the larger-capacity unit requiring a premium of $14,000.
The R1T is the first long-range electric pickup on the market ahead of the Tesla Cybertruck, GMC Hummer EV, Ford F-150 Lightning and many others. It will soon be followed by the R1S, an electric SUV with similar specs and performance except for lower towing capacity (7,700 pounds).
