Bollinger B1 electric SUV and B2 electric pickup toughen up

December 14, 2020December 27, 2020 Toby Hagon 1625 Views b1, b2, Bollinger, electric suv, electric ute

Some of the toughest electric vehicles due on sale soon have been further toughened and tweaked.

The boxy Bollinger B1 electric SUV and B2 electric pickup truck have been shown in their production-ready form, with production plans still on track for American deliveries late in 2021.

Taking to Twitter late last week, the American EV startup brand released images of the cars it says have “production-intent” styling.

Bollinger B2 electric SUV in its "production-intent" final design — Bollinger B2 electric SUV in its “production-intent” final design

While the dramatic, utilitarian shape of the Bollinger concept cars mostly remains, there are key changes, some of which aren’t been welcomed by the opinions of social media users around the world.

The mesh that surrounded the simple, circular headlights, for example, has been replaced by blander looking black plastic.

And the flat metal that takes the place of a traditional grille now has a large handle where a badge would normally reside right in the centre.

A trio of windscreen wipers that somehow added to the bulk has been dropped back to a more traditional pair of wipers.

The front doors have been shortened and the rear doors lengthened to line up with the repositioned central pillar (or B-pillar) that was “moved forward for better ingress and egress for the rear occupant”.

Painted in bright white and being able to see seats and steering wheel (the concept cars had completely black windows) the Bollinger B1 and B2 also lack a bit of gangster, instead scrubbing up as cleaner and somehow less rebellious.

Bollinger B2 electric pickup truck in its "production-intent" final design — Bollinger B2 electric pickup truck in its “production-intent” final design

Not that the B1 and B2 have gone all soft – far from it.

There’s a truck-like body-on-frame construction for strength and off-road capability.

There’s still some mesh at the front: it’s been moved into the centre of the slabby steel bumper. That mesh allows air to flow into a new radiator.

There’s barely a curve anywhere near it, with sharp edges pretty much anywhere a piece of metal needed to change direction.

The wheels still sit very close to each corner.

And exposed hinges and rivets add purposeful touches pioneered by the likes of Land Rover and Jeep.

The whole beltline of the car (the meeting of the metal and glass) has been raised, meaning more metal above the front wheels but also allowing for better packaging throughout. That also means the roof has been raised, benefiting head room.

And Bollinger still refers to the B1 as “the world’s most capable sport utility truck” and the B2 as “the world’s most capable pickup truck”.

There have been changes to the electric hardware underneath.

Bollinger says the B1 and B2 will have two electric motors (one for the front wheels, one for the rear) combining to make 614 horsepower (451kW) and capable of storming to 60mph (96km/h) in 4.5 seconds – about double the pace that most would guess looking at the thoroughly boxy exterior.

A two-speed transfer case provides low range gearing for the serious off-road work the B1 and B2 have clearly been designed for (there’s a whopping 380mm of ground clearance and more than 250mm of wheel travel).

However, breakthroughs in thermal management mean a smaller radiator up front, which has in turn created more space in the frunk (or front trunk).

A 142kWh battery is claimed to provide about 320Km of EV range.