Rivian's Electric Triumph: R1S Becomes First Production EV To Conquer Rubicon Trail

The team at Rivian Automotive RIVN has successfully taken their stock Quad-motor R1S through and to the end of the non-maintained Rubicon trail in the Sierra Nevada, making it the first production EV to do so.

What Happened: The test and development team at Rivian kickstarted from the trail’s Loon Lake entrance at 7:45 a.m. on Monday, Aug.7 and finished it around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 9, the company said in a statement. Rivian added only a set of steel rock sliders, front tow hitch receivers and a roof rack to the vehicle to equip it for the trial.

The Rubicon Trail is 12 miles long with narrow passages and rocky climbs. Though the R1S started off with around 80% charge, it had less than 10% at the end of the trail. But that would have been enough to reach a nearby level 2 charger, the company said. Trail support was provided by two pre-production Quad-Motor R1Ts and a modified Jeep Wrangler.

“I'm hugely impressed by the R1S's clean run. Aside from some homebuilt EV crawlers, this is the first fully-EV vehicle through the trail, and definitely the first production EV. Very impressive on stock tires, too,” said Rubicon Trail Foundation Director Chris.

The EV truck emerged successfully from the trail with no major injuries, failures or tire changes but a few bumps and scrapes.

Why It Matters: “Crossing the Rubicon Trail in a more sustainable way than it has ever been done before makes me hopeful for the future of off-roading," said Rivian Director of Vehicle Testing Matt Trainham.

In July, Rivian launched two more drive system configurations besides its flagship quad-motor namely the performance dual motor and the dual motor. The performance dual motor offers additional range and incredible power minus the capability of the quad motor.

Photo Courtesy: Jonathan Weiss On Shutterstock.com

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