Page 63 - Motor Trend (April 2020)
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ELECTRIC PICKUPS
Bollinger B2 Early 2021 The primary motivation behind its
industrial design is ease of manufacture.
Price $125,000 As with mighty Tesla’s Cybertruck, tiny
(before applicable tax credits)
Bollinger eliminates capital-intensive
Powertrain Layout 2 inboard motors;
sheetmetal stamping by designing the
614 hp/648 lb-ft comb; 2-speed auto body panels so they can be bent on simple
gearboxes; 120-kW-hr battery pack
equipment in a couple of operations. The
Configuration 4-door/4-pass/6.0-ft bed
complex corners are castings. The glass is
L x W x H; Wheelbase 207.5 x 77.2 x 72.7
all flat, and the side windows slide to open.
in; 139.0 in Performance 0–60: 4.5 sec,
The doors, windows, and sunroof panels
200-mile EPA range*
Towing/Payload Capacity 7,500/4,000 lb can be completely removed. A mid-gate
Unique Selling Propositions Class 3 hinges down flush with the cargo floor, and
truck payload (4,000 lb), mid-gate and the rear seats are removable, allowing
removable rear seats expand bed to 8 feet, 8-foot sheet goods to fit inside the tail-
frunk pass-through and tailgates support gate. Another pass-through to the front
19.3-foot-long narrow items, portal axles trunk, a front tailgate, and a clear, level the wheels), and two-speed gearing in the
for 15-inch nominal ground clearance floor from front to rear mean a B2 could bespoke front and rear gearboxes. The low
*estimated potentially transport a telephone pole. range is for off-road use and provides an
Another big expense savings: Its 10,001- overall 22.5:1 crawl ratio. High range yields
ollinger’s B2 pickup and B1 SUV are pound gross vehicle weight rating qualifies 11.3:1. That’s numerically higher (“shorter”)
aimed at a narrower niche of green- it as a 3500-class truck, exempting it from than most EV drive ratios, but Bollinger’s
Bminded landed gentry looking to many light vehicle safety regs like airbags. bespoke motors operate up to 12,000 rpm
explore their undeveloped estates in Bollinger is nevertheless developing a to deliver a 100-mph top speed.
a clean, quiet, no-frills vehicle with the stability control system and conducting The B1 and B2 prototype development
off-road capability of a Hummer H1. In rigorous simulation testing of side- has been self-funded. Now the company
essence, it’s like an electric H1 in a Land impact pole crash tests, roof crush tests, is arranging financing and selecting a
Rover Defender costume. It even features and others to ensure its vehicles provide manufacturing partner, working toward a
H1-like portal axles. expected levels of occupant safety. launch date in early 2021. Sales and service
Of course, fortifying the chassis to of the $125,000 trucks will be provided by a
shoulder 4,000 pounds of payload added network of independent dealers.
some cost. Hydropneumatic spring/
damper units provide self-leveling, deliver
similar ride quality loaded and empty, and
can vary the ground clearance from 10 to
20 inches. Hydraulic cross-linking delivers
the anti-roll benefits of Rivian’s Tenneco
system. More clever cost savings: The
suspension corners are diago-
nally interchangeable, with the
steering tie-rods pinned to the
chassis when fitted to the rear.
Bolstering Bollinger’s
off-road bona fides are
lockable axle differentials, a
virtual center diff lock, those
portal axles (which provide
a 1.94:1 gearing reduction at
APRIL 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 63
