Is the Rivian R1T electric pickup getting a 1,000-horsepower version?

Rivian beat decades-old carmakers and startups alike to the electric pickup segment when it released the R1T in 2021. The segment has gotten crowded since, and the young brand will reportedly fire back at the competition by launching a range-topping model called Ascent.

Keep in mind that none of this is official. Citing "a solid source," a member of enthusiast forum Rivian Forums who goes by the user name LarryDallas wrote that one of the new products in Rivian's pipeline is a updated version of the R1T called Ascent. We're guessing that's the truck's internal designation; Subaru might have some less-than-kind words for Rivian if the designation ends up on the production model.

The user reportedly learned that the Ascent will ship with a dual-motor drivetrain capable of delivering over 1,000 horsepower. That's both impressive and a little unusual: As it stands, the most powerful member of the R1T range develops 835 horsepower from four electric motors (one per wheel), and the most powerful dual-motor version posts an output of 700 horsepower. Regardless, the same report claims that the Ascent packs so much power that early prototypes popped wheelies during testing. Rivian is allegedly making changes to mitigate that.