Rivian leak sees 1,000-hp R1S and R1T Ascent trim bring Tesla Plaid performance for 2024 update ^↺

While the Rivian R1S and R1T have always offered plenty of performance — especially for the large off-road-oriented vehicles they're billed as — but a new leak claims that the American EV maker is eager to satiate the lust for more power that permeates the US automotive space.

The leak in question, which was originally shared on the Rivian Forums, claims that Rivian will introduce a variant of the R1 platform called the Ascent trim. Despite being based on the same Enduro dual-motor bones as the regular Rivian R1S and R1T, the Ascent trim will allegedly produce over 1,000 hp. This would put it in the same realm as the Tesla Model X and Model S Plaid in terms of performance output.

The exact specifics of how this would play out for Rivian is unclear, although the current crop of Rivian Enduro motor vehicles tops out at 665 hp in the Performance Dual-Motor AWD trim that does the 0-60 mph sprint in just 3.5 seconds. That makes the Ascent trim a 50% bump in output to reach the 1,000-hp mark.

Although, we have already seen the advantages of Rivian's in-house motor design and tight integration when it sacrificed some power output to gain heaps of torque.

It should be noted, though, that these are unsubstantiated rumours stemming from a "solid source," on an online forum. That said, the poster added that the Ascent unit in testing would lift the front wheels off the ground during hard launches — an impressive feat, given the R1S's 3,206 kg (7,068 lbs) weight. For comparison, the Tesla Model X and S Plaid weigh in at 2,162 kg (4,766 lbs) and 2,445 kg (5,390 lbs), respectively, so it's unlikely that the Rivian R1S with around the same power figures will outperform either Tesla's cross-over SUV or sports sedan.

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