Rivian R1T Dual-Motor tweaks add buckets of torque at the cost of horsepower and warranty length

A few short weeks ago, Rivian confirmed that it had started rolling out dual-motor R1T and R1S vehicles based on the company's in-house Enduro motor units. This development was meant to make the vehicles more efficient than the quad- and tri-motor trims.

Recent changes to the Rivian R1T specifications indicate that the company is still tweaking the Enduro motors to get the best results, and the company seems to be focussing on off-road performance yet again.

While range seems to have escaped unscathed, Rivian has adjusted its power output rating for the Dual-Motor trims by up to 11%. The base model Dual-Motor R1T now claims 533 hp (397.5 kW), down from the previously boasted 600 hp (447.4 kW), while the Dual-Motor Performance trim sees a drop from 700 hp (522 kW) to 665 hp (495.9 kW).

In exchange for the drop in power, Rivian has increased the torque numbers for the Performance Dual-Motor AWD R1T by a whopping 129 lb-ft (175 nm) — from 700 lb-ft (949 nm) to 829 lb-ft (1124 nm). The base model, on the other hand, only gets an additional 10 lb-ft (13.5 nm) of torque over its original 600 lb-ft (813.5 nm).

This torque increase — especially that of the Performance trim — is likely far more valuable for off-road use than any horsepower increase, especially after exceeding the 500-hp mark. Despite the increased torque, both Dual-Motor R1T trims maintain the same 0-60 mph times.

When Rivian popped up a few years ago as an alternative to Tesla, its vehicles received much praise due to their off-road performance and impressive range. Rivian also managed to one-up much of the competition with a five-year, 60,000-mile comprehensive warranty on its quad-motor variants.

The switch to the Dual-Motor Enduro platform has seemingly also led Rivian to drop its warranty period from the Quad-Motor's five-year or 60,000-mile (96,560 km) warranty to a four-year or 50,000-mile (80,467 km) warranty. This change is somewhat expected, given the Dual-Motor platform's reduced cost, and it's still fairly standard among luxury EV brands.

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