The tech behind Rivian’s 2026 Quad-Motor truck and SUV — and that kick flip
As Rivian begins accepting orders for its 2026 Quad-Motor pickup truck and SUV, clients could initially be enticed by the facility and tips the 4 motors in these rebooted EVs can unleash.
In spite of everything, 4 motors delivering a mixed 1,025 horsepower and 1,198 pound-feet of torque — and the flexibility to speed up from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in lower than 2.5 seconds — is tough to disregard.
However they need to additionally take note of the software program.
“The quad is absolutely the head of the whole lot that Rivian has executed up to now,” Wassym Bensaid, the corporate’s head of software program, advised TechCrunch, shortly offering a punch listing on acceleration, velocity, torque, and an estimated 374-mile vary. “Now that now we have full in-house motors, now we have full management on the stack, {hardware} and software program.”
That management has allowed Rivian to introduce a number of new options, which can roll out by way of software program updates within the quad-motor this September. (Prospects can order the quad-motor trim beginning right now with deliveries starting as early as this week, in keeping with the corporate.)
The characteristic that may doubtless encourage probably the most TikTok movies and Instagram reels is “kick flip,” a characteristic that adjusts the facility to the within wheels and lets the automobile spin about its middle — even because it’s transferring. Kick flip, which TechCrunch examined throughout a press drive in June, permits a automobile touring below 20 mph on filth to kick out its again finish and swing it to the best or left with out transferring the steering wheel. The thought is to present off-roaders the flexibility to make tight activates trails by pushing a button and with out going via the tedious process of a 3-point flip.
Rivian followers and followers may recall a promoted, however by no means launched, characteristic referred to as “tank flip.” Kick flip, which controls energy and tire grip, is the real-world and toned down model of tank flip. Rivian advised TechCrunch tank flip was by no means launched as a result of its founder and CEO RJ Scaringe and others apprehensive that tank flip would destroy trails. Not one of the best look for an organization that has made out of doors actions and preserving the setting an enormous a part of its model.
Kick flip might nonetheless be abused if the driving force stayed in the identical spot and continued to spin the automobile in a circle. Nevertheless, Rivian has positioned some software-powered guardrails on the characteristic, together with limiting the velocity and solely permitting it to spin in filth.
Second-generation overhaul
Rivian first revealed its second-generation quad-motor configuration throughout a Might 2024 press drive in Washington, in a bid to showcase the overhaul of its flagship R1 line. That reboot touched each inch of its insides from the battery pack and suspension system to {the electrical} structure, inside seats, sensor stack, and software program consumer interface.
The hassle, which has led the corporate to construct extra of its main elements in-house, is aimed toward decreasing the price of manufacturing and enhancing the efficiency and enchantment of its EVs.
Deliveries of the brand new dual-motor and efficiency dual-motor trims started nearly instantly, with the tri-motor configuration following by August 2024. The quad-motor, which is its most costly and highly effective trim, took one other yr to develop and refine the software program options and embedded methods, and the way they labored alongside the motors, suspension, and thermal administration, in keeping with the corporate.
And the stakes are excessive that Rivian will get the quad-motor proper. Rivian’s highly-anticipated and cheaper R2 autos aren’t anticipated to enter manufacturing till the primary half of 2026. Rivian is hoping the brand new quad-motor, which begins between $125,990 and $115,990 relying on the automobile trim, will give gross sales a lift. And the software program is a vital piece of its bid.
If the 4 motors (one situated at every wheel) are the guts of the second-generation quad-motor, the software program is the mind making all of it work collectively.
Bensaid pointed to the event of superior torque vectoring and balancing algorithms which have been launched within the second-generation quad-motor.
“Give it some thought as tremendous complicated mathematical processing behind the scenes to permit real-time utilization and choices based mostly on info from the 4 wheels after which the 4 motors, whereas clearly holding security guards in place,” he mentioned.
What this implies in apply is quite a few sensors on the quad-motor R1S SUV and R1T truck present info on yaw price, steering angles, and different inputs, that are then fed into software program fashions to manage torque. In different phrases, Rivian’s in-house {hardware} and software program work collectively in real-time to distribute energy at every wheel electronically.
Software program meets {hardware}
That has allowed the EV maker to introduce kick flip in addition to different software-meets-hardware options to the quad-motor, together with its “RAD Tuner,” which lets customers change the automobile’s driving dynamics by way of the central touchscreen. The RAD Tuner was developed by a workforce of engineers, software program builders, and designers nicknamed the “Rivian Journey Division.”
The origin story started a number of years in the past, in keeping with Bensaid.
“Each time we might go and check and qualify model of the software program or the automotive, now we have an engineering display which is hidden with the key code,” he mentioned. It was right here that early Rivian worker and R2 chief engineer Max Koff and R1 chief engineer Luke Lynch would configure the automotive as they wished — an train that always pushed the autos to new limits. “And that advanced into this concept of creating this tuner obtainable to clients.”
With RAD Tuner, drivers can create their very own custom-made driving mode from scratch or construct upon presets like “Rally” or “Sport.”
“We actually give customers full management via software program in order that they will determine their distinctive character of the automotive,” Bensaid mentioned, including this specific characteristic is absolutely meant for skilled drivers.
Bensaid emphasised that is greater than a easy change to the consumer interface that lets drivers tinker round with steadiness, stability, and trip top.
“I feel what’s actually vital is the know-how behind it,” he mentioned. “For instance, this torque steadiness, the truth that we’re in a position to configure this with a quite simple slider — that is years of engineering growth to have a really refined torque vectoring algorithm with actually a high-precision management that enables us to vary values whereas we’re driving. It’s technically extraordinarily, extraordinarily troublesome to do the sort of adjustments.”
The corporate can also be rolling out a launch cam characteristic, which makes use of an exterior digicam recording to mechanically seize so-called “Launch Mode,” which that may catapult the brand new R1T quad-motor from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in lower than 2.5 heart-pumping seconds. Customers can replay the movies, view real-time stats like velocity and distance overlays calculated by in-house controls software program. Customers can even export movies to a cellular system by way of USB port to avoid wasting and share.
NACS charging and extra
The 2026 R1T and R1S autos, together with the quad-motor, additionally come in-built with the North American Charging Commonplace, which was initially developed and popularized by Tesla.
This provides homeowners of the 2026 fashions entry to Tesla’s huge community of quick chargers, generally known as Superchargers. Rivian can also be supplying quad-motor clients with a complimentary CCS DC adapter, which was the long-standing EV charging normal till just lately, permitting them to plug into different networks.
As a part of this {hardware} improve, the corporate has additionally up to date its software program, particularly the EV charging journey planner characteristic. Now, when a buyer opens the journey planner and selects a NACS station, the data is up to date within the journey planner to mirror that they don’t want an adapter.