A day away and things are already starting to leak out. Compiling posts from other people, info gained from either taking a peek at the R2 launch thing in Austin or an ArsTechnica article that leaked early..
R2 Launch Edition
$57,990 excluding $1,495 delivery
87.9 kWh battery
330-mile range
29 mins (10 to 80 percent)
656 hp / 609 lb-ft
Matrix LED headlights
21-inch wheels
Heated/ventilated front seats, heated rear
185.9 inches long, 78.1 inches wide, 66.9 inches tall, 115.6-inch wheelbase
9.6 inches ground clearance
4,400 pounds towing
R2 Premium (late 2026)
$53,990
330-mile range
450 hp / 537 lb-ft
no semi-active suspension
20 inch wheels
R2 Single motor (next year)
$48,490
345 miles
350 hp / 355 lb-ft
19 inch wheels
R2 Standard (late 2027)
$45,000
265 miles
The full article:
Between
a certain car company's antics and the industrial chaos set off by COVID (and then compounded by Russia's invasion of Ukraine), it's easy to be cynical about production timelines. Yet
when Rivian showed off a midsize electric vehicle in 2024 and said it would be available in the first half of this year, it meant it. Deliveries of the first R2 SUVs will begin this spring.
As a new automaker, Rivian often does things its own way, but with the R2 launch, it's following industry practice and starting with the superlative version first. That's the R2 Performance, which starts at $57,990 with the launch package (excluding a $1,495 delivery charge). You get quite a lot of electric SUV for that, however: up to 330 miles (531 km) from a single charge of the 87.9 kWh battery pack, with 656 hp (489 kW) and 609 lb-ft (825 Nm) from the dual motor powertrain. Fast charging takes 29 minutes from 10 to 80 percent.
AWD first
The Performance features semi-active suspension, a rear window that drops into the tailgate, an interior with birch accents, heating for the front and rear seats and ventilation for the former, a nine-speaker sound system, matrix LED headlights, and some other neat touches like the flashlight that lives in the side of the door, similar to how some cars
hide an umbrella there.
You can add Autonomy+ (the automaker's partially automated driver assist), the tow package (4,400 lbs/1,995 kg), and some other colors as optional extras to the Performance trim (they're silver by default). The launch package includes a lifetime subscription to Autonomy+, the tow package, and another optional body color.
The R2 Premium will go on sale in late 2o26 for $53,990. It has the same 330-mile range and 87.9 kWh battery pack, but it generates just 450 hp (355 kW) and 537 lb-ft (728 Nm) from its dual-motor powertrain. The R2 Premium does without the semi-active suspension, arrives on 20-inch instead of 21-inch wheels, and features fewer drive modes, doing without rally, soft sand, and launch modes. Otherwise, it shares its specs with the faster, more expensive R2 Performance.
RWD in 2027
The single-motor R2s arrive next year, with the $48,490 R2 Standard that uses the same 87.9 kWh battery pack as the AWD R2s. Without a motor for the front axle, the RWD R2 goes a little further: 345 miles (555 km) on a single charge. The motor sends 350 hp ( kW) and 355 lb-ft to the rear axle. Standard R2s come with an all-black interior and only heat the front seats. The sound system has five speakers instead of nine, there's no all-terrain drive mode, it rides on 19-inch wheels, and the glass in the rear window doesn't drop down, so you'll want a roof rack for your surfboard.
In late 2027, an R2 Standard with a smaller battery enabling around 265 miles (426 km) will be available for $45,000. For now, we don't know much about that one other than its price.
The R2 SUV is attractive, sharing a lot of its looks with the larger three-row R1S, both inside and out. And it's a rather clever one, too;
Volkswagen Group invested $5 billion in Rivian specifically to gain access to its software-defined vehicle technology and expertise.
An AI assistant will come to Rivian's in-house infotainment system in a future update, running locally via edge computing. (The company actually said the "R2 is outfitted with 200 sparse TOPS of edge AI compute dedicated to the in-cabin experience," but I don't like "compute" as a noun.) That processing power will also enable Rivian's Autonomy+. And since this is now Rivian's fourth product, we can be confident in its ability to deliver its regularly praised cadence of software updates.
Color List:
Half Moon Grey
Glacier White
Borealis
Launch Green
Midnight
Forest Green
Esker Silver
Catalina Cove
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