R1S SUV

Make
Rivian
Segment
SUV

Rivian's CEO, RJ Scaringe, announced on Twitter that the R1S electric SUV will be available with a dual-motor setup powered by the Max Pack battery. The first deliveries of this new variant will begin in fall 2023. This comes as a surprise, as R1T Max Pack deliveries have been delayed several times. Perhaps RJ Scaringe's announcement also hints at a steady supply of the long-awaited long-range battery pack.

With the 180-kilowatt-hour battery feeding current to the wheels, the combined torque output is in the region of 700 lb-ft, with a claimed range of around 390 miles. According to Rivian, the R1S Max Pack will launch to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and will deliver incredible on- and off-road performance.

Oddly, this new model is not the most powerful available. Rivian also sells a Quad-Motor R1S with 835 horsepower and 908 lb-ft on tap, but this particular setup is only available with the mid-tier 128.9-kWh Large battery. The same goes for the R1T pickup truck, though the dual-motor design has already proven strong enough to recover a semi-truck.

Rivian says that the Max Pack battery and Quad-Motor combination will become available at a later date, but for now, the automaker aims to produce dual-motor models with a decent range at a reasonable price. The American automaker needs to get cars out of the factory as soon as possible. That can only be done by simplifying the range and building the models most people are interested in.

With 390 miles of range, the R1S Max Pack joins an exclusive club of vehicles near or above 400 miles. The closest rival is the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, which covers around 300 miles.

Rivian needs a win this year following a tough 2022. The EV maker missed its production target, and major early investors are losing faith. This forced Rivian to start improving its core efficiency, which led to 6% of staff getting the ax.

Despite all of the above, the Rivian R1T arguably remains the best electric truck available in the USA, primarily thanks to the engineering team thinking out of the box. If Rivian can overcome these inherent startup-related problems, it will inevitably become a heavy-hitter in the automotive world.