Chevy Silverado EV vs Rivian R1T: How two EVs handled the iconic Mint 400 off-road race | TechCrunch

Something special went down in the desert outside of Las Vegas this weekend: two EVs took on the Mint 400 for the first time.

Since the Mint 400 launched back in 1969, vehicles in this iconic desert endurance race have been powered by dead dinosaurs. Spectators and race participants alike are used to the smell of race fuel in the air as everything from V8-motivated Trophy Trucks to humble Class 11 stock Volkswagen Beetles fly over jumps, clamber over rocks, and go flat out on the dry lake bed. 

That all changed in 2024 when a group of pals entered a Rivian R1T and Mint organizer Matt Martelli created an EV Production class. This year, Chevrolet got into the game and entered the Silverado EV ZR2 off-road race truck concept, a modified version of its truck EV. The concept’s reveal comes as Chevy prepares to launch the 2026 Silverado EV Trail Boss, its first off-road oriented EV variant, this summer.

While the Rivian is very much a stock truck save for the upgraded 35-inch BFGoodrich tires, the Silverado EV got plenty of special parts.

The longer control arms were taken from the Hummer EV to allow for 13 inches of travel. The air suspension was nixed in favor of dual-coil springs in the front — with a spring rate of 1,600 pounds per inch — and single coil springs in the rear. These don’t have to support quite so much weight and sit at “only” 978 pounds/inch. Hey, that’s what happens when a truck weighs nearly 10,000 pounds. 

The tall springs and 37-inch BFGoodrich tires mean the Silverado EV race truck sits 15 inches off the ground. However, the truck itself is so big that I originally estimated it to be only 11 or 12 inches high. Such is the power of proportion.

Also taken from the Hummer is the tri-motor system, with two motors in the rear and one in the front. Chevrolet says all together they produce 1,100 horsepower and 11,500 pound-feet of torque.

Don’t get too jazzed about that torque number though. Chevrolet is talking about wheel torque, which isn’t the measure the industry usually uses to talk about torque. The company hasn’t given up all the numbers to do the math, but it’s safe to say the motors produce over 1,000 pound-feet of the stuff. Still nothing to sneeze at.

Chevy didn’t change the 205 kWh battery. In the street truck that’s good enough for 440 miles, in theory enough to race all four laps at the Mint 400. However, ride height, tire size, tread and air pressure, and the dirt all take their toll. 

Tim Demetrio, Group Manager for Off Road Performance at Chevrolet, told me that in a limited amount of testing, the truck averaged .5 miles/kWh in the dirt. But he didn’t really know how the battery and drive units would react to hard desert racing.

Not quite a square off

The chance to see Rivian and the modified Chevy Silverado EV square off at the Mint was disrupted by a technicality. Although both vehicles did race, they were in different classes. 

The Rivian competed in the EV Production class; the Chevrolet, as a vehicle that is currently not offered to the public, was in the EV Open class. And each truck was in a class of one. 

What’s worse, the Rivian R1T got to make two laps of the 73-mile course, the Chevrolet only one lap. It’s common for production vehicles to get fewer laps than the big Trophy Trucks, but I was hoping both trucks would duke it out for two laps to test both efficiency and charging. 

When I asked Martelli about the discrepancy, he said,“The Rivian has already raced and completed one lap in last year’s race. When we are shepherding in any new class we try to ease them into it. We don’t want them to fail. That’s not good for anybody. So we try to manage that by giving them a little bit more each time.”

Call it the Mint 73

As soon as the trucks came off the starting line, I immediately ran to the stock Silverado EV Chevrolet lent me to drive for the weekend. 

The first pit is at race mile 21, and the initial part of the course is very fast. Teams get to go flat out over a lake bed, through a few sections of whoops and tackle some sandy washes. By the time I got to the first pit, I had missed the truck. 

The second pit area is a quick drive for chase vehicles, but the Chevy only has to traverse 16 miles of race course. We found a place to park just in time to see the Silverado EV silently zoom around the corner out of the pit area in a cloud of dust. 

The truck crossed the finish line with a 40% state of charge. That means it averaged .6 miles/kWh — a bit better than the team was expecting. It took the team 2 hours and 10 minutes to complete the course, so their average speed was about 34 miles per hour. Not too shabby for a big ol’ truck.

Both driver Chad Hall and co-driver Mark Stielow were in good spirits after the race. 

“We just cruised,” said Stielow “No problems at all.”

For Rivian, it’s the Mint 146

After leaving the Chevy, I hightailed it over to the Electrify America chargers to check on the Rivian. 

Yes, the Rivian has to charge its 149 kWh battery to make the two laps and luckily there is a 350 kW charger just a mere quarter-mile from the race course. The team only has to enter and exit the course at the same point.

I arrived at a scene of controlled chaos. 

The R1T blew an air spring at race mile 50 or so. The team was busy repairing it while the truck charged. 

Driver Nick Paris told me they arrived at the charging station with 20% state of charge, putting their lap 1 efficiency at the same .6 miles/kWh as the heavier Silverado.  

He admitted to having a bit of a lead foot, hitting 110 miles per hour on the dry lakebed. “We saw the Chevy in front of us,” said co-driver Brett Rieser. “And we said ‘Let’s go’ and zoooop!” The Rivian made the pass and the race was on. 

Charged to 90%, the Rivian left on its second lap. The vehicle blew a front damper, but was only down for 15 minutes. 

The Rivian team arrived at the finish line with a 10% state of charge and despite pushing the truck to 128 miles per hour on the lakebed, their lap 2 efficiency remained .6 miles/kWh. 

With their charging timeout it’s tough to get an average speed, but I would put it at a tad slower than the Chevrolet. Chad Hall is, after all, a professional race truck driver. The Rivian team is just a bunch of delightfully nerdy privateers. 

Regardless, since both trucks finished, both are considered class winners and will take home a first place trophy. 

Where are Ford, Jeep, Tesla?

While battery density and charging infrastructure mean these electron-powered rigs won’t be competitive with ICE race cars and trucks, there certainly is room for more EVs to enter the fray to test their charging speed, range and durability. 

Ford Performance — when y’all entering the Lightning? Hey Jeep, how about entering a Wagoneer S next year? Heck, I’d even be in favor of Uncle Elon entering a Cybertruck. GMC can throw in the Hummer, maybe Porsche could field a Taycan Cross Turismo. I helped Volkswagen get the ID4 to the finish line in Baja in the Mexican 1000 a few years ago, so let’s bring that little guy in too. Imagine the spectacle of all these vehicles battling for electric dirt supremacy.