Bollinger B2

The Bollinger B2 is the work-truck half of one of the EV world's great what-ifs. Revealed alongside the B1 SUV, it took Bollinger's brutally boxy, all-steel design and turned it into a serious electric pickup, with big power figures - 614 hp, 905 Nm, around 200 miles of range from a 120 kWh battery - portal-axle off-road hardware and real payload and towing ambitions, all at a 125,000-dollar price.

But it never made it. After repeated delays, Bollinger announced in January 2022 that it was shelving the B2 and B1 indefinitely to focus on commercial trucks, and the company has since hit serious financial trouble. So the B2 stands as one of the boldest electric work trucks nobody could actually buy - a cult design that ran out of road, and another reminder of how hard it is for EV startups to turn a striking idea into a real, sellable vehicle.

On its announced specs, the Bollinger B2 backed up its tough looks. The 120 kWh battery promised around 200 miles of range, and the dual-motor all-wheel-drive system made 614 hp and a hefty 905 Nm, good for a 0-60 mph time of about 4.5 seconds and a 100 mph top speed. As a work pickup, it paired that with portal axles, big ground clearance, long-travel suspension and a two-speed gearbox for low-range off-road ability and serious load-carrying.

The problem is that none of it ever reached customers. With the B2 cancelled before production, these are target figures for a truck that did not make it to market. So while the numbers look strong on paper, they describe an unrealised design rather than a proven, working machine.

The Bollinger B2 was designed as a heavy-duty, utilitarian work truck with a tough structure and all-wheel-drive traction, but with basic, function-first safety equipment rather than the airbags and assistance systems of a modern pickup. Because it never entered production, it has no independent crash-test rating from any recognised body, and no real-world safety data exists. With no company actively behind it as a consumer vehicle, there is also no recall or safety support. Its safety picture, like everything else about the B2, is that of an unrealised concept.

Bollinger planned for the B2 to support fast charging alongside home charging, using the same large 120 kWh battery as the B1. But the charging details were never finalised in a production truck, because the B2 was cancelled before reaching the market. There are no confirmed real-world charging speeds or times to rely on - the charging information is part of an announced specification for a vehicle that was never actually built and sold.

There is no meaningful warranty to discuss for the Bollinger B2, because it never went into production and was never sold. Bollinger shelved the B2 indefinitely in 2022 and later faced serious financial difficulties, so there is no active consumer-vehicle business or warranty support behind it. In practical terms, the B2 should be treated as an unproduced concept with no ownership or warranty framework at all.

The Bollinger B2 is a brilliant idea that never got built. Its uncompromising, boxy, work-first design and strong on-paper figures made it a cult favourite, and it promised a refreshingly tough, no-nonsense alternative to slick electric pickups. But after years of delays, Bollinger shelved it indefinitely in 2022 to chase commercial trucks, and the company later hit serious financial trouble, so the B2 never reached production. It is a fantastic design to admire and a cautionary tale to learn from, but it is not a truck you can buy. If you want an electric pickup you can actually own and work, look at the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning or GMC Hummer EV instead.

In concept, the Bollinger B2 was aiming at the same rugged-truck buyers as the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning and GMC Hummer EV, and it was by far the most extreme and utilitarian of the bunch. But the comparison ends at the design stage: those trucks are real, supported, crash-tested vehicles you can buy and work today, while the B2 was cancelled before production and has no company meaningfully behind it. Against any of them, the B2 cannot compete on availability, reliability, service or resale. Its edge was pure attitude and off-road purity; on everything a working owner needs, the real, on-sale trucks win comfortably.

There is nothing to buy, so the advice is simple: you cannot purchase a Bollinger B2, because it never went into production. There is no new stock, effectively no used market, and no manufacturer support. If the B2's rugged, boxy, work-truck character appeals to you, put that interest into an electric pickup you can actually own and rely on, such as the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning or Chevrolet Silverado EV. Treat the B2 as an inspiring design study and a piece of EV history, not as a truck on your shopping list.

Ownership cost is not a meaningful question for the Bollinger B2, because it was never produced or sold. There is no purchase to make in practice, no running costs to calculate and no service or parts ecosystem, because the consumer pickup was cancelled and the company moved on. Any cost discussion is purely hypothetical, based on the announced 125,000-dollar price and EV running costs that were never realised. In short, the B2 has no real-world ownership-cost story.

EV tax incentives are irrelevant to the Bollinger B2 in any practical sense, because it was never produced or sold. Incentives apply to vehicles you can actually buy from operating manufacturers, which the B2 is not, and its 125,000-dollar announced price would have exceeded many incentive caps anyway. So there are no meaningful tax benefits to factor in - it is simply not a purchasable truck for which incentives could apply.

Maintenance is a non-issue in the usual sense, because the Bollinger B2 was never built for customers - there is no service network, no spare-parts supply and no maintenance schedule. The few prototypes that exist would be effectively unsupportable as working vehicles. If the B2's simple, repair-friendly, boxy philosophy appeals, that idea is better served by production trucks you can actually service and own. As a real ownership proposition, the B2 has no maintenance story to tell.