Testing new vehicles in extreme climates is nothing new, with prototypes regularly spotted in Northern Sweden and in Death Valley, places most production versions won’t realistically spend much time. Rivian, however, has a different mission. It advertises its products as more go-anywhere vehicles that just happen to be electric, and that’s prompted the creation of the Rivian Adventure Department (RAD).
RAD is a small team of designers and engineers working on special projects for Rivian and its affiliates. Its process helps generate features that product planners have incorporated, and has involved sending vehicles up to 14,000-foot heights such as Pikes Peak, into deserts in California and Nevada, and on the ice this year in Montana.
“RAD represents the living, breathing expression of the passion that defines Rivian. That impulse to explore, to push limits, and to embrace the adventure is not confined to one team—it is the very DNA of our entire company, from the designers and engineers to our community of owners,” Chief Design Officer Jeff Hammoud said in the company’s official announcement. “The Rivian Adventure Department simply gives an official name and a powerful focus to the transparent, open spirit that drives every vehicle we design and every mile we seek out. It’s a promise to never stop pushing the boundaries of adventure.”
Rivian called the operation a “skunkworks” in its press release. RAD is a team effectively doing lower-profile jobs, but it has just been given a higher profile.
Like a lot of outdoor vehicle, apparel, and lifestyle brands in general, RAD has been tasked with finding out what possibilities exist and whether or not they can result in product updates, or entirely new products or features. Most Rivian owners will never take advantage of features that allow their EV SUVs and pickup trucks to storm up and down peaks or cross vast deserts. But at least they know they can.
The stakes are high, as Rivian had the electric off-road market mostly to itself when production started in 2021. It will have more competition by the end of the decade from companies with not only EV experience, but off-road heritage.
Mercedes-Benz already markets an electric version of the G-Wagen that’s broadly been around in combustion-engined form since 1979. Land Rover will, after numerous delays, start selling an electric Range Rover next year that it promises has similar capabilities to its gas and plug-in hybrid equivalents, and is expected to roll out other electric SUVs by the end of the decade. And Jeep has the Wagoneer S and will soon have the Recon, although the new Stellantis regime is putting the brakes on new full-EV investments.
Finally, there’s the direct Rivian rival in the wings in the form of Scout Motors, whose parent is Volkswagen Group. Starting in 2028, it will market a vehicle that is about the same size as the R1 models and has a similar spirit, along with the heritage of the Scout name that was last used in 1980 and maintains a small-but-passionate following in the U.S. Rivian and VW even have a partnership for technology.
And then there’s the list of automakers adding off-road packages to vehicles that most likely will not see much more than a pothole-riddled road, with names like Woodland, TrailSport, and Rock Creek.
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