Why Rivian canceled the highly touted 'tank turn' feature

Rivian Automotive will not enable the "tank turn" feature in its R1 off-road vehicles because the four-wheel thrust needed to rotate in a circle is potentially damaging to trails, CEO RJ Scaringe confirmed in response to a question on social media.

The feature was the subject of a viral video posted on Christmas Day 2019 that showed a silver R1T pickup spinning in a circle, clockwise, in a muddy field. The promotional spot was made before the electric truck went into production in 2021. The video attracted 2.3 million views on YouTube.

"This was something early in the program that we planned to do," Scaringe said on an Instagram video last week as he answered questions from fans of the California EV brand. "In fact, we showed a video of it."

Tank turn is made possible by the inclusion of four motors on the top-end R1T, one at each wheel, Scaringe said. When left-side motors are pushing forward and right-side motors are pulling backward, the pickup can spin on its center axis. The quad-motor configuration puts out 835 hp, Rivian said.

But as the video shows, the trick is rough on the dirt surface beneath the spinning off-road tires.

Scaringe addressed the missing tank turn feature in the question-and-answer session last week. "Over the last year and a half, we've arrived at the view that it's a feature that, while we can do it, it's so easily abused and so hard to make sure that we don't tear up the trails and really do things that are in contrast to what we stand for as a company."MotorTrend also pointed out, in September 2021, that the tank turn feature is difficult for a driver to control.

After talking to a Rivian executive, MotorTrend said, "Rivian discovered the amount of power needed to get all four wheels spinning results in a lot of wheel speed, which ends up making the truck spin around very fast. From the inside of the truck, it's a hell of a ride, so much so there's concern it'll scare drivers who aren't ready for it, which could result in a loss of control if the driver panics."

In last week's question-and-answer session, Scaringe appeared briefly in front of a clay model of a future Rivian vehicle that will be built on its R2 platform. Rivian has said R2 vehicles will be significantly more affordable. The base R1T now starts at $74,800 with shipping.

The R2 clay model was covered with tarp, leaving only the general outlines of a crossover.

The InsideEVs website estimated the clay model is about 70 inches tall and 177 inches long, a little bigger than the Ford Bronco Sport, which is a compact crossover.

Rivian's R1T and R1S crossover are midsize vehicles. The three-row R1S is about 201 inches long.

Scaringe offered no commentary on the R2 design. In response to a question about Rivian exports to Europe, Scaringe said R2 vehicles are expected to be sold in multiple markets.

Rivian is building a factory in Georgia to assemble several vehicles on the R2 platform, starting in 2026.

The production ramp of R1 vehicles from Rivian's Normal, Ill., factory is also accelerating, Scaringe said. Additional motor and battery configurations are coming this year, he added.

"We continue to ramp, this is a core focus," Scaringe said. "You're going to see quarter over quarter, more and more production units coming out and, along with that, the business really start to achieve its clear path to profitability."

Laurence Iliff writes for Crain's sister publication Automotive News.

Now that Stellantis is less overwhelmed firefighting its way through supply chain crises, Carlos Tavares is returning to his old ways of relentlessly cutting costs and hunting for savings.

A quest to extract protein from air and microbes is getting a boost from one of the world's largest agricultural commodity traders.

Tesla's dominance slipped from a year earlier to 60% of the market in the first quarter as upstarts like Illinois' own Rivian gained traction.