When Rivian published their video on their electric pickup truck–the R1T–doing what they called a Tank Turn, I saw a whole bunch of people immediately discuss the practicality of having a feature like this. And don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of situations where being able to do a 180-degree turn on the spot would be useful. I would love it if my car could do a 180-degree turn on the roads of PJ where you have illegally parked cars on the left and illegally parked cars on the right.
That being said, when I saw this Tank Turn, the hoon in me simply couldn’t help but let my mind wander to the first thing I’d try if my car could do this: A donut. Or, a SUPER donut?
For those who haven’t seen the video, you should go check it out. This maneuver isn’t super new or anything, don’t get me wrong. But, it is usually a maneuver you’d find on tracked vehicles like tanks or heavy machinery. And it involves sending either track in opposing directions causing the vehicle to rotate on the spot.
In Rivian’s case, thanks to their quad-motor setup on both the R1T and R1S, they’re able to send two wheels on each side in the opposite direction to accomplish the same kind of movement. It looks a little uncanny on a road-going vehicle because typically, cars can’t do this. But, with independent electric motors, I’m guessing it’s all just down to a matter of configuration.
And just by being able to fully turn around on the spot–I mean, you can already see all the different applications where this would be useful if you’re out off-roading in the countryside. Get stuck on a small bit of pathway? Just tank turn your butt outta there.
But that also brings us back to the big question: Would this be able to let you execute sick donuts on paved roads? Well, I certainly hope so, but I suspect we’ll find out soon enough when people get their hands on these vehicles.
