Rivian has produced its first dual-motor R1T pickup at the Illinois factory. Unlike the quad-motor system the company had to source from a third-party vendor, the new powertrain is an in-house design and a major milestone in reaching nominal production capacity, Rivian says.
The production began as early as February this year, but all trucks made had been transferred to Amazon to be used in its delivery fleet. Compared to the four-motor standard spec, the new version costs $8,000 less – around $73,000 for the base model with the smallest battery available.
Right now, Rivian is trying to ramp up the production volumes while minimizing expenses, something that should be much easier now that an in-house powertrain is available. The first shipments in the USA are expected in June.
The electric automaker published the technical specifications of the new R1T versions earlier this spring. You can find them in the official configurator: one has 600 horsepower and the other has 700. The latter accelerates faster, but both have the same driving range on a charge. The quad-motor version benefits from 835 horsepower and can distribute the torque on a per-wheel basis.