Rivian’s new midsize R2 SUV rolls into Chicago for weekend event
The Rivian R2, the long-awaited midsize electrical SUV, is getting actual.
This weekend, Rivian is giving Chicago-area prospects their first probability to kick the tires on the Illinois-built EV throughout a cross-country roadshow. The R2 is on show by way of Saturday at Rivian’s downtown and north suburban showrooms.
The two-day event, dubbed the R2 Block Party, has about 2,000 reservations for viewings at each areas, with walk-ins additionally welcome. Customers can hop contained in the EVs, however Rivian is not providing demo drives in the course of the inaugural R2 viewing.
More than a dozen R2-curious — together with a number of who’ve reserved an unseen sight with a $100 deposit — had been lined up earlier than the Chicago showroom on North Rush Street opened at 9 a.m. Friday, desirous to get their first in-person take a look at Rivian’s downsized SUV.
“I flew last night from Jacksonville, Florida,” mentioned Kyle Chard, 49, who was on the entrance of the road. “I ordered the car in August of 2024, and I really wanted to see it before I actually buy it.”
Making the event much more important, Rivian truly launched manufacturing of the R2 on Wednesday, with the primary customer-ready automobile rolling off the road — regardless of the Normal manufacturing unit being hit by a twister final week.
Rivian introduced the midsize R2 SUV can be built at its Normal plant two years in the past, and has been taking preorder reservations ever since. Expectations for the new R2 are excessive, with the corporate receiving over 100,000 deposits within the first 4 months alone. Rivian has not up to date the R2 reservation totals since July 2024.
Thousands of shoppers confirmed up earlier this month for R2 Block Party occasions in California and Colorado. The response Friday morning appeared equally sturdy as a gradual stream of shoppers filed into the Chicago showroom.
Mark and Lorna Hildebrandt had been among the many first to reach after taking the practice Thursday from Ann Arbor, Michigan, for their R2 viewing.
They reserved their R2 with a $100 preorder deposit inside minutes of its March 2024 on-line unveiling. This was their first probability to see the automobile they deliberate to purchase.
“I was watching the live stream, and I got signed up in the first few minutes,” Mark mentioned because the couple waited for their flip to get contained in the R2. “It’s been a long wait, but it looks rather promising from what I can see so far.”
The couple are staying at a downtown resort and deliberate to attend an invitation-only celebration Friday night time on the Chicago showroom for present Rivian house owners and R2 reservation-holders earlier than returning dwelling Saturday to Michigan. Early EV adopters, they wish to retire their 2009 Chevy Volt to make room within the storage for the R2.
While the show R2 was not obtainable for a check drive, the couple additionally deliberate to take an R1 out for a spin within the afternoon, their first journey on a Rivian.
California-based Rivian launched manufacturing of its full-size electrical R1T pickup truck, the R1S SUV and its industrial supply vans in September 2021 at a former Mitsubishi auto plant on the outskirts of Normal.
Current costs for the R1S SUV vary from $77,000 for a dual-motor Standard to $122,000 for the top-of-the-line quad-motor model. Last 12 months, Rivian produced 42,284 autos — together with vehicles and supply vans — at its Normal plant, the corporate’s sole manufacturing facility.
Starting costs for the R2 vary from $45,000 to $58,000, which may place Rivian as a mass-market EV automaker, considerably ramping up manufacturing within the downstate school city.
A Half Moon Grey-colored Launch Edition R2 was parked within the Chicago showroom Friday, with a half dozen or so followers clambering out and in of its areas at anybody time beneath the useful watch of gross sales associates.
Chard, who works for a global freight firm, stayed at a close-by resort for his one-night go to. His itinerary included dinner Thursday night time at Smith & Wollensky, espresso and croissants Friday morning on the Rivian showroom and a flight again to Florida within the afternoon. But the R2 was the spotlight and sole motive for his go to to Chicago.
The smaller dimension and worth made the R2 well worth the wait for Chard, who presently owns a Tesla Model Y. He has test-driven the RS1, however felt it was too large for his wants.
“I don’t have kids, so I don’t need the third row, and I wanted something that would fit in my garage,” Chard mentioned. “I could afford an R1, but I really wanted to wait for the R2. It’s just a little bit more the size I’m looking for in a vehicle.”
Rivian has needed to navigate some challenges — seen and unexpected — earlier than getting the primary R2 off the road this week.
Backed by $827 million in state incentives, Rivian expanded its 4.3 million-square-foot Normal plant by a further 1.1 million sq. ft to accommodate R2 manufacturing. Mother Nature undid a bit of that work final week when an EF1 twister descended on the R2 plant amid an onslaught of greater than 30 twisters throughout the state, in line with the National Weather Service.
The April 17 twister hit Building 2, a more recent a part of the manufacturing unit primarily used for R2 components logistics. The constructing was closed within the fast aftermath, however the remainder of the plant remained operational, and the twister didn’t derail the manufacturing launch, the corporate mentioned.
“While Building 2 has sustained damage and is closed for the time being as we complete our assessments, I am incredibly relieved to share that there were no injuries at our plant,” Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe mentioned in an e mail Sunday to workers. “Operations at other facilities continue as planned.”
While R2 manufacturing has formally launched, Rivian shouldn’t be but taking particular orders. Customers can nonetheless reserve their spot on-line with a $100 deposit and Rivian will attain out to them to finish the order course of as manufacturing ramps up.
Rivian mentioned it’s on observe to start delivering R2s to prospects later this spring.
The firm produced 10,236 autos in the course of the first quarter, and initiatives it can ship 62,000 to 67,000 autos this 12 months, a 50% improve over 2025, bolstered by the R2 rollout.
The Launch Package model of the 2027 R2 Performance mannequin begins at about $58,000 and contains a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain producing 656 horsepower. That takes the top-of-the-line R2 from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, with an estimated vary of 330 miles on a full cost.
The 2027 R2 Premium can be obtainable for supply later this 12 months beginning at about $54,000, whereas the 2028 R2 Standard is predicted to hit the street in the course of the first half of subsequent 12 months, with a beginning worth at about $48,000. An much more inexpensive Standard variant is deliberate for late 2027, with a beginning worth of $45,000.
The R2 can be on show by way of Saturday night on the Rivian showrooms on North Rush Street and at Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie. After Chicago, the R2 Block Party will head to Long Island, New York; Atlanta; Miami; Palo Alto, California; and Nashville, Tennessee, throughout May.
Jelena Saric, 36, and Giles Slocum, 44, had a comparatively brief journey from their Lakeshore East house to see the R2 Friday in Chicago. They personal a gas-powered automobile and wished their second automobile to be electrical to “have that versatility of having both,” Saric mentioned.
The couple reserved an R2 with a $100 deposit on the day it was unveiled on-line two years in the past. After getting an in-person look Friday, they mentioned the midsize SUV was a great match for metropolis dwellers and well worth the wait for them.
“It was the easiest $100 he’s ever spent, and then he asked permission,” Saric mentioned. “But I’m all for it. This is the vehicle we have been waiting for.”
