The Rivian R1T Just Showed the Corvette Z06 What Heavy Torque Can Do

Carwow’s Mat Watson crossed the Atlantic to organize this unusual showdown on a California ranch. Two vehicles lined up for a day of flat-out racing, with little in common other than a price tag of roughly $120,000. On one side, there’s the Corvette Z06 designed for cornering, while on the other is Rivian’s full-size electric truck, which has four motors and enough power to move a home. Despite the comparable price tag, their approach to speed could not have been more different.

At first glance, or rather, by looking at the spec sheets, it was evident that these two cars were not a good match. The Corvette Z06 features a 5.5-liter V8 engine that delivers 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels via an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. That’s a rather eye-watering setup for handling, but the real stats show the true difference: it weighs only 3,715 pounds, which is a significant benefit when attempting to travel fast. Meanwhile, the Rivian R1T Quad Motor produces an impressive 1,025 horsepower and 1,198 pound-feet of torque, but it all goes through a heavyweight 4-wheel drive system that weighs about 7,000 pounds. On paper, the truck should have been unstoppable from the outset, but the real world was a lot more unpredictable.

The first test was a half-mile straight-line run, which began at roughly 30 mph in second gear to settle the engine and transmission before getting underway. The electric truck accelerated immediately away, thanks to its fast torque. It didn’t remain ahead for long; the Corvette soon came up and took the lead. Mat Watson later revealed that the truck had a bit of a limiting element, as it reached an electronically limited 112 mph early on. That means it couldn’t push as hard as the Corvette.

The bigger braking test came next, starting at 100 mph. Both vehicles approached the strip at full speed before the drivers slammed on the anchors. The Corvette stopped the quickest and remained rock solid thanks to its incredible carbon-ceramic brakes and small weight. The heavier Rivian took much longer to come to a stop and felt quite unstable when braking hard. That extra weight was certainly having a significant impact here.

The standing-start quarter-mile runs delivered the most drama. The Corvette edged over the Rivian by a hair in the first few runs, but the latter struggled to get moving under factory traction. Then Mat Watson came in and changed the settings to turn off traction control and enable full launch mode on the truck. Suddenly, everything changed. The Rivian caught up smoothly and sped down the track like a missile. In the last run, it crossed the line in 10.6 seconds at 130 mph. The Corvette clocked 11.3 seconds.