Here’s the thing: the numbers we used to call outrageous for trucks’ four-second sprints, 700-plus horsepower, now look almost polite. Electric vehicles have shifted the goalposts so far that super-truck performance has become a different sport altogether. And leading the charge right now is the 2026 Rivian R1T Quad Motor Max Pack.
Car and Driver pushed it to the limit, and the results weren’t just quick. They were ludicrous.
A 6987-Pound Rocket
The spec sheet reads like something from a fantasy build. Four motors. 1025 horsepower. 1198 pound-feet of torque. A 140-kWh battery feeds the whole orchestra.
The payoff? A 0–60 mph blast in 2.6 seconds with launch control. That ties the Tesla Cybertruck Beast on paper, but the story changes the moment you move past the initial hit.
The Rivian’s 22-inch Michelin Pilot Sport S5S needed a warmup lap for full grip fair, considering they’re trying to translate a tidal wave of torque into motion. Even so, the truck barely keeps the tyres from breaking free from the line.
The Real Separation Happens at Speed
By 70 mph, the R1T is already pulling away from Tesla’s 6901-pound Beast. Hit 100 mph, and the gap becomes almost disrespectful: 6.0 seconds for the Rivian versus 6.9 for the Tesla.
Then comes the knockout punch.
The quarter-mile disappears in 10.6 seconds at 128 mph, a full 1.1 seconds and 17 mph quicker than Rivian’s previous quad-motor version. The Cybertruck Beast can only muster 11.0 seconds at 119 mph.
Both trucks top out around 130 mph, but that limit doesn’t save Tesla here. On any straight long enough to matter, the Rivian stays ahead, full stop.
One thing Tesla does win? Real-world punch without prep. Its 5-to-60 mph time is 2.8 seconds, half a second better than Rivian’s. If you’re rolling instead of launching, the Beast still has teeth.
What It Feels Like Inside the Beast Slayer
Launch control in the R1T is simple: tap the drive mode, hold both pedals, let the truck drop onto its haunches, wait for the go. Then it’s just you, four motors, and scenery turning into watercolour.
There’s no drama, no roar, no kickdown pause. Just forward motion so violent it feels casual. You don’t expect that kind of speed from a vehicle that can tow 11,000 pounds and carry a family in comfort.
Supercar Numbers, Pickup Practicality
To really understand how wild this is, line up the R1T’s time slips with famous sports cars.
It outruns the Ferrari-challenging GMC Syclone of the ’90s.
It beats the 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R by a full second to 60 mph.
And it can take down icons like the Corvette E-Ray, AMG GT63, and even the Porsche 911 GT3 RS in a quarter-mile drag.
What this really means is simple: the Rivian R1T Quad Motor isn’t just the quickest truck ever tested. It’s one of the quickest vehicles on sale, period.
Electric trucks weren’t supposed to get this silly. But here we are.
