TECH INSIDER | RIVIAN
TECH INSIDER | RIVIAN
board All above
Rivian has created a buzz around its upcoming electric
adventure vehicles. E&H speaks to company engineers
to get the lowdown on the ‘skateboard’ architecture
WORDS: GRAHAM HEEPS
8 // July 2019 // www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com
That should be sufficient for 96km/h (0-
60mph) acceleration in about three seconds,
or 160km/h (0-100mph) in seven seconds.
An unnamed supplier is providing the motors themselves,
but the packaging has been done in-house at Rivian.
A similar approach was adopted for the inverters. The
company is still building its development infrastructure but
has invested in dynos for the powertrain team, which is
based at the main engineering office in Plymouth, Michigan.
“The platform had been running for 18 months before
the LA reveal so was already very mature,” says Charles
Sanderson, VP of development and integration. “Until late-
2018 the powertrain was running at reduced power and with
a different gearing ratio, but control concepts like torque
management are the same, so we had been able to develop
After a glitzy reveal at last December’s LA Auto
Show, Rivian’s profile has rapidly evolved from
one of the under-the-radar startups to that of
a much-admired EV innovator.
The ‘electric adventure vehicles’ creating the buzz are the
R1T pickup and R1S SUV. Both are due to enter production
at the former Mitsubishi factory in Normal, Illinois, in 2020.
They share the same, ‘skateboard’-based powertrain and
battery setup, albeit with slightly different wheelbases.
The platform features four motors, mounted inboard
in two pairs, front and rear. A hub location would have
generated mass in a place unsuitable for the off-road
application. Each motor is rated at 147kW; after losses in the
powertrain are taken into account, Rivian is expecting the
most powerful models to see around 740ps at the wheels.
VITAL
STATISTICS
Motors 4x 147kW
Cells 2170 Li-ion cylindrical
Pack 105kWh/135kWh/180kWh
Range 230/300/400 miles
Max speed 201km/h (125mph)
Payload 1,763lbs (800kg)
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