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Rivian’s upcoming R2 SUV is undergoing final validation testing, ahead of its planned release in the first half of this year – with at least one vehicle spotted without camouflage (but with a wrap) on public roads in recent days.
The R2 is Rivian’s upcoming smaller, more-affordable SUV to accompany its best-selling R1S. The company has been selling its R1 line for years now, but this is the first time it will break out into another line… and with a price that’s significantly more attainable than the $73k base price of the R1T.
The R2, rather, is supposed to start at around $45k, aiming directly at the premium mid-size SUV segment that has become so popular in recent years, especially when it comes to EVs.
While the two vehicles look extremely similar stylistically, when placed side by side it becomes apparent that the R2 is a much more reasonable size. The R2 concept build that we saw at the original R2 unveiling had some neat new features too, though some of those won’t be making it to production (we’ll find out which ones made it and which ones didn’t quite soon).
It’s been described as Rivian’s “Model 3 moment,” where the automaker will branch out from offering one single high-end vehicle (well, two variants on the same platform) and finally have another model, closer to the mass market.
So it’s an important moment for Rivian, and they’re currently in a rush to make sure everything is right.
After validation builds started rolling off the line last month, Rivian is now putting them to the test in tough environments. Rivian announced the R2 is in final validation testing this morning.
Rivian says the vehicle has been tested through “scorching heat, bitter cold, soft sand, deep water, max towing, and much more” over “multiple lifetimes of mileage accumulation and extreme durability runs.”
Testing occurred in temperatures between -45ºF and 122ºF, and R2 Chief Engineer Max Koff says it has performed “better than we ever expected” (but then again, of course the company would say that).
But we don’t have to take the company’s word for everything – we do have social media confirmation that this testing has been going on, at least.
One was recently photographed charging at a Tesla Supercharger (yes, the R2 will come with a NACS plug, as we were the first to report) in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Perhaps not as far-flung a location as Tierra del Fuego, where the R1T underwent testing (alongside filming travel documentary Long Way Up), but challenging conditions nonetheless.
In even less far-flung locations, a camouflaged vehicle was seen outside the Super Bowl in Northern California, not too far from Rivian’s R&D office in Palo Alto.
And an uncamouflaged vehicle has been seen on the roads as well… or at least, a less-camouflaged version, as it’s wearing the “R2D2” wrap seen at Rivian’s AI day in December.
That vehicle was spotted recently driving around Irvine, CA, nearby Rivian’s headquarters.
The same vehicle was posted to Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s instagram, occupied by his kids, seemingly parked in Laguna Beach, CA, yesterday (where it was also spotted and posted on social media).
So… plenty of sightings of the new R2, which stands to reason when the car is supposed to come out within just a couple months.
When Rivian originally announced that it would bring forward the R2’s launch date by building it in Illinois instead of its in-construction plant in Georgia, the earlier mid-2026 date seemed perhaps a little optimistic. However, the evidence we have available to us suggests that Rivian just might be able to make that date after all.
What do you think about all you’ve seen in the sightings above? Let us know in the comments.
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