When electric vehicle (EV) startup Rivian first showed off its R1T pickup and R1S SUV, the headline-grabbing feature was a trick built for drone video footage and TikTok videos called the “tank turn.” The company announced this week that it won’t be coming to new Rivian models after all.
A Tank Turn Spins a Truck in Place
A tank turn is possible in an EV with four motors, one for each wheel. Because a quad-motor EV can turn each wheel independently, it can spin in place. Turning one side’s wheels forward and the other side’s backward lets a vehicle turn 360 degrees, like a tank alternating its treads.
It’s a cool party trick. But, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe points out, it tends to tear up trails.
It’s Too Damaging to Trails, Rivian Says
“Over the last, I guess, year and a half, we’ve arrived at the view that it’s a feature that, while we can do it, it’s so easily abused and so hard to make sure that we don’t tear up trails and do things that are in contrast with what we stand for as a company,” Scaringe said.
Trail damage is a progressive disease. When one driver leaves the kind of deep ruts tires can do pulling in opposite directions, other drivers have to route around them to avoid getting stuck. That means driving off carefully planned trails, worsening the problem for each successive driver.
That possibility, Scaringe says, “didn’t feel congruous with the way we approach respecting the trails, taking care of the trails, and not leaving ruts.”
Will Other Automakers Follow Suit?
So, Scaringe says, the tank turn won’t be coming in a promised future software update. Mercedes-Benz has shown a prototype of a future electric G-Class that can do the same trick. We’ve reached out to ask if the company plans to keep it in the production vehicle.
Ford’s Bronco, meanwhile, has its own “trail turn assist” function that locks the inside rear wheel to allow for tighter turns.
Cox Automotive, parent company of Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, is a minority investor in Rivian.
