Final week, the electrical automaker Rivian unveiled the R2, its newest electrical SUV. When the automobile begins rolling off manufacturing traces—within the first half of 2026, Rivian says—the R2 will be part of the R1S SUV and the R1T pickup truck within the automaker’s lineup.
Critically, Rivian pledges its latest entry will probably be cheaper: At “round” $45,000, in accordance Rivian’s press supplies, the SUV will value some $30,000 lower than its greater SUV cousin, and can nonetheless include about 300 miles of vary.
Pulling off the feat of creating its new SUV extra reasonably priced with out sacrificing vary or type shouldn’t solely show important in making Rivian’s newest trip stand out in an more and more crowded area of electric vehicles—it additionally may save the corporate. How did Rivian make it work? “R1 was designed by way of addition. It’s our premium flagship. We bought to say sure to quite a lot of issues,” Jeff Hammoud, the automaker’s chief design officer, stated at an R2 unveiling occasion in Laguna Seashore, California, final week. “With R2, we’re actually occupied with, to get the worth level down, what do we have to say no to?”
It’s early, however the math appears to have labored: Rivian reported taking greater than 68,000 reservations within the first 24 hours after the SUV’s unveiling.
For the electrical automaker’s design workforce, the trick to creating what executives referred to as the “extra accessible” R2 was to take care of the unique SUV’s design language—the weather that make it clearly a Rivian—whereas snipping manufacturing and supplies prices wherever they might. So the R2 has Rivian’s signature entrance, full with smile headlights, and appears like a shrunken model of the R1S. (The brand new automobile seats 5 folks as a substitute of seven.) Slicing extra prices got here right down to sensible engineering.
After an extended day of displaying off the R2 and its shock crossover counterpart, the R3, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe sat down with WIRED to debate his engineering and design groups’ little compromises that assist make the brand new SUV work.
Suspension System
In a bid to make the R1 line right into a sports activities automobile/off-roader hybrid, Rivian needed to go all out with its suspension system. As a result of electrical batteries are heavy, the automobile wanted air springs to make sure it may get the bottom clearance required to traverse tough roads but in addition the steadiness to make the trip really feel snug and easy. An electro-hydraulic roll management system helps the R1 navigate tight corners—the sports activities automobile half—take in off-road shocks and maximize wheel articulation, in order many wheels as doable can preserve contact with even essentially the most treacherous terrain. The flamboyant system additionally enabled some pleasant perks. Camp mode, for instance, makes use of the suspension system to stage out the R1’s chassis whereas on uneven floor, making it extra nice to sleep or cook dinner in, or simply hold contained in the automobile or in its truck mattress.
However that advanced and costly suspension system wouldn’t work for the R2, says Scaringe. To chop down on manufacturing prices, the SUV has a hard and fast trip top and glued roll management. As a substitute of an impartial double wishbone entrance suspension design—utilizing two arms to attach every wheel to the chassis—the R2 makes use of a strut.
The change “was completely the proper name,” says Scaringe, as a result of it performs nicely in inside security testing, saves the automaker “a whole bunch of {dollars},” and comes with the added benefit of giving the R2 extra entrance storage room.
Rear Home windows
For the R2, Rivian designers wished to offer passengers a traditional “open-air” journey automobile expertise, the type discovered on a safari inside a Toyota Landcruiser. So the workforce got down to give the rear passenger home windows full-drop glass. Simpler stated than carried out. Many automobiles, together with the R1S, have a hard and fast quarter window, separated from the portion that rolls down by a strip of metallic and rubber referred to as a division bar. The configuration is sensible for plenty of automobiles, as a result of the rear passenger doorways overlap with the entrance of the rear wheelbases, that means that the small portion of glass behind the division bar has nowhere to go.
So to drop that window glass, Rivian’s design workforce needed to spend plenty of time fidgeting with the dimensions of the R2’s again doorways. “There have been some goofy proportions for some time due to it,” says Scaringe. In the long run, the ultimate configuration permits all the again home windows to drop. It additionally permits Rivian to save cash on glass, division bars, and sealants.
Rear Desk
Hammoud, the Rivian design head, says R1S homeowners actually love the SUV’s break up rear tailgate. It opens like a clamshell, which permits simpler entry to the trunk by shorter people, and likewise offers folks a spot to take a seat, shielded from the weather. However that setup is fairly expensive. Within the R2, Rivian has nixed the break up tailgate however added a helpful little rear tray desk, which can be utilized contained in the automobile throughout picnics or tenting jaunts however may flip exterior the automobile for use as a seat or altering desk.
Transportable Bluetooth Speaker
The R1 line comes with a built-in, detachable bluetooth speaker, which additionally emits a mushy, yellow glow—a beautiful campsite temper setter. However temper setting ain’t free. The R2 doesn’t include the speaker. Unhappy, however essential to maintain prices down.
Frunk
Rivian likes to speak about its software-first strategy. Certainly, its automobiles are continuously amassing information. For that purpose, the automaker is aware of that drivers actually use its entrance trunk, or “frunk”—the cupboard space the place a gas-powered automobile’s engine normally goes. Scaringe credit the R1 frunk’s recognition to its very easy-to-use open-and-close tech, which permits folks to open up and shut down the factor by double-tapping a button on the important thing fob or miserable a button on the entrance fascia, no pushing or prodding required.
However that system is dear. For the R2, the frunk nonetheless opens with the faucet of a button, which releases a latch inside. However a small strap dangles from the within lid of the compartment. Drivers solely have to offer the strap a light-weight tug earlier than a cinch takes over, closing the frunk tight. “It’s simply the proper trade-off for a $45,000 automobile,” says Scaringe. Rivian will actually discover out if drivers agree about two years from now when the R2 rolls out of the manufacturing unit and onto American roads.
