Yahoo Autos A Future Ford EV Will Be Built on a Rivian Platform
Michigan-based electric car startup Rivian surprised a lot of people last year with two promising concepts, the all-electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV, shown above. Just a few months after the automaker's formal debut, Amazon led a $700 million investment round in the company, and it won't be the only one. Today, Rivian announced that Ford has invested $500 million in the EV maker.
As part of the deal, Ford will develop an EV based on the "skateboard" platform that's slated to underpin the Rivian R1T and R1S. This Rivian-based Ford will come in addition to two EVs the Blue Oval is already developing-a performance SUV inspired by the Mustang, and an electric version of the F-150.
Rivian's skateboard platform has a large battery pack in the floorpan and one motor driving each wheel. It has double wishbone suspension up front and a multi-link setup at the rear, and both the R1T and R1S will use height-adjustable air springs, adaptive dampers and active anti-roll bars. With the most powerful drivetrain option, the R1T and R1S are promised to serve up more than 750 horsepower and zero to 60 mph in 3.0 seconds.
Before Ford came into the picture, Rivian was in investment talks with General Motors, but fell apart. Apparently GM didn't want Rivian building EVs for any other automakers, but according to a Bloomberg report those talks fell apart.
Rivian has said the R1T and R1S will hit the market late next year. Ford hasn't provided a timeline for when its Rivian-based EV will see production.
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