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Watch One of Rivian's Executives Playing in the Snow With His R1T, Drift Mode FTW

Slippery conditions in the winter can be a real pain for drivers but can also be a lot of fun when things go well. It’s easy to show off some driving skills if the car’s electronics allow and thanks to the low speed permitted by the snow you can get away unharmed if things go south. Luckily, this did not happen in the case of one happy Rivian R1T owner so he could post his joy on Instagram.
Happy R1T customer playing in the snow with the Drift Mode on 6 photos
Photo: Aimen Shawki / Instagram
Happy R1T customer playing in the snow with the Drift Mode onHappy R1T customer playing in the snow with the Drift Mode onHappy R1T customer playing in the snow with the Drift Mode onHappy R1T customer playing in the snow with the Drift Mode onHappy R1T customer playing in the snow with the Drift Mode on
The short video shows the car doing some moves slightly resembling the drifts rally drivers perform at a much higher speed. For this to happen the car’s stability program has to play along and that’s where R1T excels with its Drift Mode. This should allow the car a little more freedom on the track while still keeping things safe. The driver behind the wheel is not a professional, but the man in charge of battery engineering at Rivian, Aimen Shawki, and you can see he’s having a lot of fun.

Tahoe 2021 with the #Rivian in DRIFT MODE! Super impressed with how this truck handled the snow. Safely got my family out of a pretty nasty snowstorm this weekend,” wrote the post Shawki shared on Instagram.

The video was filmed near Lake Tahoe in California, presumably right before the situation worsened because of the snowstorm. As you can see, Aimen Shawki praised not only R1T’s ludic character but also its qualities that helped him and his family get out of harm’s way. The truck indeed has some outstanding off-road abilities thanks to its quad-motor all-wheel-drive system with torque vectoring.

Rivian started R1T deliveries this month, with the first units getting in the hands of the company’s employees. This explains why Aimen Shawki owns one and also why there aren’t more real-life reports about how the electric pickup truck behaves in the cold weather. So far, the first customers complain mostly about some panel gaps, while at the same time praising the software that powers everything inside the car.

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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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