Rivian Has a New Performance Division and It's Pretty RAD

Rivian has christened its in-house skunkworks team Rivian Adventure Department—yes, RAD.

Rivian on Thursday made its internal skunkworks team official. Ahead of the first-ever FAT Ice Race in Big Sky, Montana, the American electric brand is giving an appropriate name to the designers and engineers that push its products to the limit: Rivian Adventure Department, or RAD for short.

According to Rivian, the first seeds for this team were planted way back in 2020, when a small crew took two early R1T prototypes to Patagonia to start a 13,000-mile trip back to Los Angeles. 'Long Way Up' wasn't just a stress test, it kick-started an attitude at the brand to push its vehicles harder.

This mindset was contagious. Rivian senior performance test engineer Gardner Nichols took his own quad-motor R1T to Pikes Peak in 2023. With no factory backing he set a production truck record; with Rivian's support the next year (and the updated quad-motor model) Nichols raised the bar with an even quicker time.

Also in 2023, Rivian entered the Rebelle Rally, the all-women off-road rally raid that covers roughly 1,500 miles (2,500 kilometers). It won that too, and the experience there directly resulted in the R1's Soft Sand mode, which was delivered to production models via an over-the-air (OTA) update.

Here in 2026, quad-motor R1s now have the 360-degree "Kick Turn" feature, a Desert Rally drive mode—also built off of Rebelle Rally experience—and the RAD Tuner, an adjustable, multi-variable feature that allows drivers to not only fine-tune aspects like torque balance, wheel slip, and steering behavior, but to save them all with a custom drive mode name. The division name was right there all along!

"RAD represents the living, breathing expression of the passion that defines Rivian. That impulse to explore, to push limits, and to embrace the adventure is not confined to one team—it is the very DNA of our entire company, from the designers and engineers to our community of owners,” said Rivian chief design officer Jeff Hammoud. “The Rivian Adventure Department simply gives an official name and a powerful focus to the transparent, open spirit that drives every vehicle we design and every mile we seek out. It’s a promise to never stop pushing the boundaries of adventure.”

With the official recognition of RAD, Rivian joins the likes of BMW (M), Mercedes-Benz (AMG), Toyota (GR) and Hyundai (N) by having an in-house performance division tasked with developing enthusiast hits. RAD will debut at this week's FAT Ice Race 2026 in Big Sky, Montana, with both R1 models as well as a new R2 all wrapped in the division's official livery. Given what the team has already accomplished before it had an official name, we're looking forward to what's next.

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