In an interview with one of the buff books, Rivian's CEO, RJ Scarige, recently had some interesting news. Rivian has a slew of work going on right now.
That's because the electric vehicle manufacturer is working on a few projects in parallel. First, it's focusing on productionalizing its own sport-utility vehicle, the R1S, and pick-up truck, the R1T. In addition to that, it's helping Ford build an EV as well as electric Amazon Prime vans.
That last bit is a bit kooky, no? Given how many Amazon-branded vans I currently see in the suburbs and New York City, it seems like a good idea.
Where we're more interested is, of course, with Rivian's plans with Ford. That's because there was some key information shared with Motor Trend. See the excerpt below.
...Ford is designing its own so-called "top hat"—an EV-specific term for the vehicle bodies that use the skateboard architecture—for its high-end electric SUV, but since it will ride on the common architecture, features such as the company's unique infotainment system must be designed to run on Rivian's electrical systems. Scaringe would not say when Ford production begins, but design and engineering are locked in and ready to roll. "It's a very different product from our own SUV, but it's still in the SUV space," Scaringe says. While Rivian is going after the adventure market, Ford will pursue luxury buyers, which leads us to deduce it will be sold as a Lincoln. Scaringe would not confirm this supposition, as it's Ford's announcement to make, he said. He did say the Ford SUV is "an impressive product, to say the least..."
I find these details interesting mostly because Ford has a capable chassis in the Mustang Mach-E, however, it's clear that Ford is leaning on Rivian's innovation to push the boundaries even further.
Recall, the R1S is capable of up to 400 miles on a full charge, has a 7,700 lbs. tow rating and the ability to wade into over three feet of water. Even better, it can sustain charges up to 160kW, meaning 200 miles of range in 30 minutes of charging.
Would a Lincoln that delivers on those fronts be of interest to you? What say you, Spies?
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