BMW has M; Mercedes has AMG; Toyota has TRD and GR. More fledgling automakers like Hyundai, Tesla, and Polestar have their own dedicated performance divisions, too. And as of Thursday, Rivian is joining the fray, as it officially announces its own go-fast team: the Rivian Adventure Department.
Launched on the eve of the FAT Ice Race 2026 in Big Sky, Montana, Rivian’s Adventure Department is the catch-all official branding for the kind of performance work the electric startup has been quietly engaged in since it began. This isn’t just a marketing tactic, either, as Rivian says the adventure department is staffed with designers and engineers, and run with the dedicated mission of pushing the envelope of what is possible in a Rivian. Of course, the company’s enthusiasm for it is made clear by its internal program abbreviation of “RAD.”
Rivian
The “skunkworks” title—borrowed from Lockheed Martin’s top-secret aircraft division that made such machines as the U-2, SR-71 Blackbird, and made you look—is thrown around a lot in the automotive industry, encapsulating everything from the razor-sharp Czinger 21C and its bombshell 3D-printed manufacturing to Ford CEO Jim Farley’s takes on affordable EV development. The California-based EV pickup and SUV manufacturer claims its clandestine journey began when it took two R1T prototypes on the Long Way Up adventure, traversing every surface between the tip of Patagonia and the streets of Los Angeles. It was a statement of purpose, revealing Rivian says yes to extreme adventure, as the press release asserts. Adhering to that principle in a meaningful way required the creation of RAD.
“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 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.”
Larry Chen
Rivian cites its victory at the 2023 Rebelle Rally and its Pikes Peak electric truck records of 2023 and 2024 as examples of RAD’s prior, then-uncredited work. A dedicated team of engineers worked to fine-tune Rivian’s electric models for off-road excellence and precision grip, efforts that led to the birth of the RAD Tuner.
The RAD Tuner is, at its core, a drive mode selector of the broadest degree, allowing for adjustments to power output, torque bias, stability control, and brake regeneration to match the trail or road ahead. This feature is currently available in second-generation quad motor R1S and R1T units.
But announcing a new performance wing is not simply about formalizing the private movements of Rivian’s engineering department. Rivian is hinting at a bigger, brighter future where the RAD moniker applies to trim levels or even models. Publicly, Rivian has yet to confirm that RAD-badged models are coming—focusing instead on the arenas where the RAD principles shine—but it’s hard not to make comparisons with TRD, BMW M, or the now-dormant Mazdaspeed. The perception that an automaker has a special performance wing working for the benefit of enthusiasts is exactly why Hyundai’s N Division or Mercedes-AMG models have garnered an obsessive following. By applying that same formula to a brand that already has cult followers, Rivian is betting hard on the enthusiast; perhaps unsurprisingly, we think that’s probably a safe bet.
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A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022 and Road & Track in 2024. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a BMW 318i E30 street parked in his Queens community.
