Have you ever gazed upon a Rivian R1T and thought, “That’s nice, but it’s not nearly as aggressive as I’d like”? Well, the good people at Florida-based Apocalypse Manufacturing, who are known for their outlandish Jeep 6x6 creations, have got your back.
Enter the Apocalypse Nirvana. Touted as the world’s first lifted Rivian R1T, the green all-electric pickup truck is sporting a pretty outlandish body kit that’s quite as aggressive as the firm’s other creations but still makes the California-made EV stand out – although we’re not sure if it's in a good way or a bad way, that’s for you to decide.
Riding on 38-inch tires, the battery-powered four-wheeler went through a pretty long list of modifications to make the wheels fit properly. Speaking with TheDrive, SoFlo Customs and Apocalypse Manufacturing owner Joe Ghattas said that he expected the build to involve more frame modifications than suspension work, but things quickly spiraled into something more.
The builders wanted to drop the subframe and lower the electric motors in relation to the rest of the chassis, but they ended up fabricating a lot of suspension components from scratch, including an extension for the steering rack, upper and lower control arms, and spindles. A skid plate was also fitted to protect some of the components underneath the body.
In total, it took the two companies nine months to complete the project, partly because the R1T is a very complex vehicle, Ghattas said, with multiple sensors and a suspension setup that uses hydraulically cross-linked adaptive dampers as well as air springs.
"We went through a full set of airbags—blew 'em all up because the slightest differentiation of angles on these things makes a big difference," the business owner said for TheDrive. "This thing was engineered with very tight tolerances and we had to recreate all of that."
As for the slightly toned-down body kit compared to the Ram-based Super Truck, the suite of external sensors that are used for adaptive cruise control and automatic steering are the reason why Apocalypse Manufacturing didn’t go over the top with the fiberglass.
Based on the quad-motor R1T, which offers a combined output of 835 horsepower and 908 pound-feet of torque, the Nirvana starts from around $150,000.
