Bollinger B1
Startup Bollinger Motors is carving out their own slice of the rapidly expanding EV pie. It isn’t very dashing, and it’s got a long way to go to retail production, but the all-electric, all-aluminum, all-wheel drive Bollinger B1 pickup truck is a 3,900 pound behemoth developed specifically as an alternative to mass-produced pickups and SUVs for hardcore off-road enthusiasts and workers whose assignments take them into rugged terrain.
Design Reportage
The dimensions of the B1 4-Door is 4350 m long, 1945 mm wide, and 1868 mm high. The wheelbase is 2898 mm. The luggage compartment of the B1 4-Door can accommodate 396 liters / cubic.ft of storage. The curb weight of the B1 4-Door is 1769 kg, and the maximum operating weight 1,356 kg.
The B1 is a convertible full cab to half cab which resembles a dark gray aluminum box of a vehicle that’s riddled with rivets. There’s a winch in the front bumper, and the whole thing stands on 33-inch tires for an overall height of just over six feet. It was really designed for the farm and off-roading with 15.5″ of ground clearance and 10″ of wheel travel, but it looks similar to a Russian army utility wagon. The underbody has virtually nothing to hang you up unlike combustion vehicles that have drive shafts and differentials. The chassis rides on Mud Terrain LT285/70/R17 tires with high offset aluminum wheels for go anywhere traction and performance.
Interior Specifics
Interior design is utterly basic with an old school fusion of flat surfaces and seating for four occupants and a massive cargo space. There aren’t many luxuries, but you do get air conditioning and Bluetooth. Luxury runs to optional heated seats. There will be a radio with an AM / FM receiver and an AUX input, but there’s no touchscreen. In fact, the dashboard is almost completely analog. There is an analog battery level indicator. The only digital display is a small LCD screen to the far left that can be toggled between outside temperature, range, and MPGe. There are USB and 12-volt outlets in the dashboard, and a host of standard 110-volt plugs throughout the truck.
Exterior Highlights
The doors and windscreen of the B1 and B2 can be removed for open-air driving and there’s an optional roof made of glass panels. There are very few rounded edges with rivets and welded seams more prominent. Circular LED headlights are flanked by an industrial looking metal mesh 18-inch tyres. The A-arms are made of high strength steel and attached to the frame with the help of durable polyurethane bushings, while detachable anti-roll bars allow traction enhancing.
Powertrain Illumination
The truck’s specifications include 360 hp and 472 pound-feete generated by the dual electric motors of torqu. The truck is all-wheel drive with locking differentials and manual disconnect sway bars for full suspension articulation. With the 1769 kg of curb weight, the Bollinger trucks are able to tout a power to weight ratio of just 3.6 kilograms per one horsepower. Bollinger said the truck will be featured with a top speed of 200 km / hr and can go from zero to hundred in 4.5 seconds.
The B1 and B2 aren’t just concerned with speed however, as the trucks’ most impressive hardware comes in to play off-road. B1 feature 11.75-inch 4-wheel anti-lock inboard disc brakes, to help with maximizing off-road capability. The maximum towing capacity falls short of some gas-powered SUVs but remains useful at 3400 kilograms.
Battery Features
A longer-range model with a larger, 100 kWh battery, will deliver an estimated 320 kilometres per charge and the other variant features a 60 kWh With Level 3 DC fast charging, it will take 75 minutes to recharge the battery. The Bollinger B1 will need a 220 volt power source every 193 km to 321km of travel depending on the chosen model. We need to wait 7-12 hours to get a full charge so long distance road trips are not ideal.
Sales Details
At $125,000 and with few standard features, the Bollinger B1 will appeal to a very specific clientele, but there’s certainly nothing else quite like it. It is expected to launch sometime this year. As for where Bollinger will manufacture its vehicles, that is still not known publicly.
“When I designed this truck, I wanted it to have rugged good looks with a very bold presence, I envisioned the vehicle as the ultimate truck for work and play which would be the perfect truck for ranchers, builders, DIYers and off-roaders but without the environmental effects and carbon footprint of a traditional gas-powered SUV,” quoted Robert Bollinger, the company’s founder and CEO on his vision for the electric Sports Utility Vehicle.
