Skip to main content

Bollinger B1 electric sport utility truck sets high bar for eco-friendly trucks

Ford Bronco and Land Rover Defender fans will take second looks at the Bollinger B1 electric sport utility truck. At first glance, the square cut, multifunction, transformer-style SUT revealed in New York on Thursday resembles those fabled earlier vehicles.

The B1 is a rugged, three-box design truck with four passenger seats — the back two seats are easily removable. The wheelbase is 105 inches, overall length is 150 inches, and width is 76.5 inches. Compared to a 2017 two-door Jeep Wrangler, the B1 is about 3 inches wider, 14 inches shorter lengthwise, and has a 10-inch longer wheelbase. With a 265-pound aluminum chassis and a steel rollover structure, the B1 weighs 3,900 pounds — about 140 pounds heavier than a Wrangler.

FEATURES

The B1’s battery storage area and drive train are located between the chassis rails below the vehicle floor, allowing storage in front (called a “frunk“), the rear, and in between. A unique center pass-through door in the dash makes it possible to store 12-foot boards entirely inside the truck. Maximum storage capacity is 95 cubic feet with the two back seats removed. By comparison, the two-door Wrangler has 56.5 feet of cargo capacity behind the front seats.

Recommended Videos

With lightweight aluminum construction, dual electric motors with full-time four-wheel drive, and a combined 360 horsepower with 462-foot pounds of torque, the B1 blasts from zero to 60 in 4.5 seconds with 127 miles per hour top speed.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Bollinger’s engineers set out to build a unique vehicle. “The B1 combines Bollinger Motors’ advanced all-wheel-drive system with our all-electric powertrain to produce best-in-class horsepower, torque and ground clearance,” said CJ Winegar, Bollinger Motors engineer. “This vehicle signifies a huge leap above what is currently on the market. There’s nothing like it out there.”

FUNCTIONALITY

Buyers will have a choice of  60kWh and 100kWh lithium ion battery packs, with 120- and 200-mile ranges, respectively — well within the range of most daily drives, but you’ll need to stop to recharge on longer trips. The B1 has a J1772 universal connector for 110V or 220V charging and a Level 3 CHAdeMO DC Fast charge port on the fender.

You can plug in your tools, equipment, and electronics to run on the four-wheeled power source with 100V plugs in several locations on the B1 and USB and 12-volt plugs in the dash.

A labor of love

“We are so thrilled to be able to finally take the wraps off of our Bollinger B1 SUT,” said Bollinger Motors’ founder and CEO Robert Bollinger. “This is the culmination of what has been a 40-year-long boyhood dream of mine and I couldn’t be more pleased with the vehicle and the incredible team who worked so hard to create it.”

Firm prices and delivery dates for the B1 aren’t yet solid. Bollinger Motors is in talks with independent U.S. vehicle manufacturers and also exploring building the B1 itself in New York state.

“While we’ll be announcing pricing and manufacturing targets later this year, the business case for the B1 makes sense at a very realistic and modest production number and at a price point of a nicely equipped sport utility vehicle,” said Bollinger. From Bollinger’s statement, Digital Trends estimates a price point between $45,000 and $75,000.

The company predicts deliveries will start within 19 months after manufacturing decisions are final.

Potential customers can reserve a B1 without a deposit on Bollinger’s website. The company expects to start taking orders with a $1,000 down payment from reservation holders in early 2018.

Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown Contributing Editor   As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…
Digital Trends’ Top Tech of CES 2025 Awards
Top Tech of CES

Las Vegas is overrun. Every billboard in town is shouting about AI, hotel bar tops now sport a sea of laptops, and after hours The Strip is elbow to elbow with engineers toting yard-long beers.

That means CES, the year’s biggest tech bacchanalia, has come to town, and Digital Trends editors have spent the last four days frolicking among next year’s crop of incredible TVs, computers, tablets, and EVs. We’re in heaven.

Read more
Sony and Honda’s Afeela 1 EV makes more sense at CES than in the real world
Afeela 1 front quarter view.

The Sony car is almost here. After its creation via a joint venture with Honda in 2022 and two years’ worth of prototypes, the electronics giant’s Afeela brand is finally taking reservations for its first electric vehicle, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026.

But will it be worth the wait? Coinciding with the opening of reservations, Sony Honda Mobility brought updated prototypes of the Afeela 1 (as it’s now officially known) to CES 2025, representing what California customers (Afeela is only taking reservations in that state) who put down a $200 refundable deposit can expect when they take delivery.

Read more
Bose wants to dominate car audio, and I heard its next-gen 3D automotive speakers
Bose logo on a speaker grille

Bose’s automotive audio business is huge, and it’s set to get even bigger. The company has been making big plays in car audio for some time now. The audio company works with premium brands like Porsche, building high-end speakers that allow drivers to experience high-quality audio on the road, whether they’re carting the family around in an Escalade or weaving around the highway (don’t do that) in a Porsche Macan.

But while it has a solid selection of audio brands under its belt, the world of personal audio is also evolving. Mercedes-Benz showed off its Dolby Atmos system at CES last year, and now, a year later, plenty of other brands are joining the trend. At CES 2025, Bose walked me through its current lineup of automotive audio products, as well as a sneak peek of what’s to come.
Immersive audio
The big trend in all areas of personal audio right now essentially boils down to supporting 3D audio formats like Dolby Atmos. Consumer home theater products are increasingly offering up-firing and side-firing speakers that can bounce audio around the room to simulate height and surround effects, while headphone brands are increasingly developing spatialized audio tech that can convert stereo audio into simulated spatial audio.

Read more