It seems that Jeep and Ford won’t be the only ones to offer removable roof panels on an SUV.
Every now and then, it does pay to poke the corporate bear on Twitter. A user, who has apparently pre-ordered an R1S, asked Rivian if he would have the option of a sliding glass roof in his new electric whip. The company responded in kind, going one further and dropping a bit of as-yet unheard news.
Hi Steven! We will offer multiple roof styles including electrochromic glass (which turns from opaque to transparent on demand), a fixed glass panel, a two-piece removable composite roof and a standard fixed roof.
— Rivian (@Rivian) August 13, 2019
Dandy, hey? Whoever’s running Rivian’s social media accounts could have just fired back with the info for which the customer was looking but instead decided to expand upon the topic, revealing there will be four different R1S roof options, including a composite setup with removable panels!
Check out RivianOwnersForum.com
Without seeing any official renders of this option, we’re left to speculate as to what form it would take. However, one doesn’t need too much of an imagination to predict it may operate in similar fashion to the My Sky unit on Jeep’s Renegade. Your author is wagering there will be two panels – one covering the front chairs and one for rear seat urchins.
In case you’ve forgotten, builders of the R1s claim this SUV will rip to 60mph from rest in three seconds flat, a product of the unique way in which an all-electric machine delivers its prodigious power. Four electric motors provide power to each wheel, meaning there is potential for AWD hoonery. Those units are rated at 147kW and can be matched up to a selection of three different battery sizes, providing a range of up to 400 miles.
Don’t forget – Rivian has attracted interest from some major legacy car manufacturers, so this machine should not be considered vaporware or a sideshow. The company estimate the R1S will go on sale in 2021 with a tax-credit starting price in the ballpark of $65,000.