Talk about a tight turning radius. Rivian confirmed on Christmas day via its Twitter account that the new all-electric R1T pickup truck currently in testing will get the rumoured tank turn feature that will allow drivers to turn the truck fully around while remaining in place.
Off-roaders wanting to make a 1980-degree turn without having to move forward or backward and turn the wheel will thus be able to do so, with the truck spinning the left and right wheels simultaneously but in opposite directions. This is made possible, in the case of the R1T, because the pickup works with four separate electric motors assigned one to a wheel. All that’s required to get the opposite power going to the wheels is a bit of extra code.
In theory, since the R1S works with the same drivetrain configuration, it too could get the tank turn feature.
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This announcement doesn’t come as a total shock, since back in October 2018 Rivian actually applied to trademark the terms Tank Turn and Tank Steer.
Lest city-dwelling donut freaks get too excited at the prospect of spinning their way around their neighborhood or the local Walmart parking lot, Rivian warns that this is definitely not intended to allow that type of manoeuvering on dry pavement. In its words, doing so will very possibly “break shit” in the vehicle.