Rivian Invades Jeep Territory With First Electric Rubicon Trail Run
Jeep may need to find a new model name.
A Rivian R1S SUV became the first all-electric production vehicle to complete the challenging Rubicon Trail earlier this month, the automaker said.
Jeep has used the 12-mile trail as a benchmark for the off-road performance of its vehicles, and the most capable trims of the Wrangler and Gladiator wear the Rubicon name.
Rivian said the Quad-Motor AWD R1S was entirely stock, except for its steel rock sliders, front tow hitch receivers and a roof rack.
The trip took over eight hours to complete and required the vehicle to use 75% of its battery charge, which Rivian said is equivalent to three gallons of gasoline. Under normal conditions, the 835 hp Quad-Motor AWD R1S is rated to go 321 miles on a full battery.
THE $72G JEEP GLADIATOR RUBICON FAROUT IS THE BRAND’S LAST DIESEL-POWERED PICKUP
The R1S didn’t suffer any mechanical failures or require it’s stock tires to be changed. If it had, Rivian brought a modified Jeep Wrangler along as a support vehicle.
While the Rivian may be the first all-electric SUV to cross the Rubicon, the plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler 4xe proved its worth during development by finishing all of the sections of the trail in all-electric mode, just not in one shot.
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Its small battery only provides 21-miles of emissions-free driving on the road, so it could only tackle the rough and rocky trail in short stints before its turbocharged four-cylinder engine kicked in.
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