Potential Motors’ Adventure 1 Off-Road RV Tiny Electric Camper Van

Potential Motors wants to bring to market its own factory overland vehicle designed for off-road adventure, an ambitious feat considering the bounty of vehicles that could be considered as such from Rivian, Ford, Jeep, Ram, GM, and so on. The New Brunswick, Canada-based startup specializing in vehicle control systems for electric off-road vehicles will attempt to achieve this goal through its Adventure 1 electric off-road RV.

When we look at Adventure 1, we can’t help but see a big-windowed, nimble electric compact camper van or adventure van that represents the future of off-grid electric overlanding for novice and experienced off-roaders looking to safely explore remote areas, perhaps traveling solo with a dirt bike inside or taking the whole family on an expedition.

At 64 inches wide, Adventure 1 is quite narrow for a passenger vehicle, on-par with recreational side-by-sides like the John Deere Gator, Yamaha Wolverine, Honda Talon, Polaris General, and Can-Am Commander, for example. At 178 inches long, it’s half a foot longer than a Ford Bronco Sport and shares its wheelbase, 105 inches. Measuring 10 inches narrower than the Bronco Sport, however, makes the Adventure 1 proportionally long but skinny—perfectly suitable for narrow trails.

As a factory overlander, the underpinnings and brains of Potential’s Adventure 1 are designed and built for off-roading. Its A-arm front, trailing-arm rear suspension gets 9.84 inches of travel, and there’s nearly 13 inches of ground clearance. Adventure 1 will naturally run Potential’s vehicle control system. This advanced system proactively adapts torque and suspension settings according to the terrain, without manual adjustments.   

The exterior of Adventure 1 reflects its off-road nature. Its design allows a 40-degree approach angle, 45-degree departure angle, and 29-degree breakover angle, competitive with all the big boy off-roaders. It has beefy body protection to guard against debris and rocks, a meaty front skid plate, front and rear recovery hooks, and a flush front winch. The renderings show it running BF Goodrich all-terrain tires. Rather than a raised roof rack setup, the roof has a recessed built-in roof rack storage area with tie-down provisions that houses a spare tire, recovery boards, and presumably whatever else you want to store up there. The three indents above the rear wheels act as a ladder to get to the roof.

A large single rear hatch opens nice and high to reveal Adventure 1’s spacious interior, which has an integrated full-size bed, slide-out sheltered kitchen, and lots of storage space. Adventure 1 seats four and sleeps two people. The dash area looks simple and straightforward, with a few large switches, a tablet-like screen, and a digital gauge cluster.

The Potential Motors Adventure 1 runs a fully electric, dual-motor platform with four-wheel drive via differentials. It produces 604 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque, more than enough to propel the pint-sized camper van up mountains and through soupy trails. It has a modest 70kWh battery pack good for 100 miles of off-road range, according to Potential Motors. The company hasn’t released charge time or peak charge rate, or if it’ll have Level 3 DC Fast Charge capability. Fingers crossed Potential packs it full of tech.

The Adventure 1 off-road RV starts at $136,600. Yes, that’s a lot, but Potential Motors has no intention to mass-produce Adventure 1; it will be very limited in volume. Pre-ordering ($1,000) is available for those who want to dive right in with confidence. For those wanting to see it in-person, Potential will have the Adventure 1 on display at the Overland Expo East in Arrington, Virginia, in October 2022.