New pure-electric Rivian R1T to battle Tesla pick-up

Tesla's forthcoming pure-electric pick-up will have fresh new competition from the Rivian R1T following its unveiling ahead of the Los Angeles motor show this week.

Set to be on sale by 'late 2020', the new Rivian R1T has been designed, developed and engineered by Michigan-based start-up Rivian.

The 5.5-metre long five-seat dual-cab pick-up truck is intended to give US buyers a zero-emissions alternative to traditional pick-ups like the Ford F-150.

Initially, the Rivian R1T will be offered with three battery pack options offering 105kWh, 135kWh and mighty 180kWh outputs.

Weighing in at a hefty 2.6 tonnes, the most powerful Rivian R1T is claimed to be capable of hitting 100km/h in around three seconds and able to deliver a range of between 370km and 650km.

The secret behind the R1T's astonishing performance for such a heavy truck is that it comes with four electric motors that individually produce 147kW a piece but, combined, churn out an incredible 14,000Nm of torque.

Rivian says it is currently working on powerful 160kW fast-charging stations but each truck also comes with an 11kW on-board charger.

As well as being close to supercar-quick away from the lights, the Rivian pick-up is said to be an accomplished off-roader with adjustable air suspension that allows it to raise its ground clearance to as much as 360mm to help it ford rivers up to a full metre deep.

Based on a 'skateboard' style bespoke architecture that sandwiches the batteries low in the chassis, the R1T has a large load bed and a front boot that can swallow up to 330 litres of cargo.

Unfortunately, because of its excessive weight, the ute's payload is limited to just 800kg, but the zero-emission truck can tow 5000kg.

When it goes on sale in late 2020, Rivian has also confirmed the R1T will come with camera, lidar, ultrasonic and high-precision GPS maps that are all necessary for Level 3 (hands-off, eyes off-road) autonomous driving on highways, but it has not announced when the driverless aids will go live.

Back in 2017, Rivian purchased a former Mitsubishi Motors manufacturing plant as part of a sale that reportedly included a functioning paint shop, robotics, stamping machinery and production equipment, apparently enabling it to resume production in a matter of months.

Following its unveiling of the R1T, Rivian confirmed it would launch the brand in Europe, including the UK, in 2021.

That means right-hand drive R1Ts could also head Down Under if there's enough demand for a full-size pure-electric pick-up here.

Pricing in the US is said to begin at around $69,000 ($A95,500).