Rivian’s founder and CEO RJ Scaringe posted a video on Instagram on Wednesday showing an R2 in Borealis rolling off the Normal, Illinois, production line — the first public footage of the deep purple shade on the assembly line and the clearest signal yet that the color’s September window is on track.
The video shows the SUV moving through what appears to be a final inspection area at the plant.
The post arrived shortly after Rivian opened the Forest Green exterior and Coastal Cloud Signature interior to all R2 buyers, removing the early-access restriction that had limited both options to a select group of reservation holders since mid-August.
Borealis is now the last of eight announced R2 exterior colors still open for ordering. No date has been set for when orders for the color will go live in the configurator.
Configurator Status
Borealis still displays a “Coming September” label alongside the $2,000 price tag on the public R2 configurator as of Thursday morning.
Borealis carries a $2,000 surcharge, placing it in the same pricing tier as Catalina Cove, Launch Green and Midnight.
Forest Green sits a tier lower at $1,500, alongside Half Moon Grey.
Coastal Cloud Signature adds $1,000 to the interior. Esker Silver remains the only no-cost exterior on the R2.
Rivian describes Borealis as a dynamic, light-shifting purple inspired by the Aurora Borealis.
The shade was introduced on the R1T and R1S at Miami Art Week in December 2025 as a limited-edition color before being carried over to the R2 palette.
Accelerated Timeline
Borealis reaching the R2 in September represents a significant acceleration from earlier expectations.
When Rivian detailed the R2 Launch Edition palette in late April, the color was restricted to the broader Performance trim and was not expected until 2027.
As the configurator went live in mid-May, Borealis carried a “2027” label.
Rivian corrected the timeline in August after an earlier reply on X bundled Borealis with Forest Green and Coastal Cloud.
The company clarified in a follow-up post that Coastal Cloud and Forest Green would arrive later in August, with Borealis following in September.
Color Rollout Sequence
Rivian first confirmed the “later in August” timing for Forest Green and Coastal Cloud in replies to reservation holders on X.
On August 18 and 19, the company emailed select early reservation holders with early access to both options, quoting an eight-to-twelve-week delivery window versus four to eight for launch colors.
The first Coastal Cloud car reached a customer within a week of the early-access opening, on August 26.
Wednesday’s general availability announcement followed.
Chip Newcom, Rivian‘s VP of Investor Relations, cited the Coastal Cloud interior on Tuesday at Goldman Sachs’s Communacopia conference as an example of each new option bringing “increased interest” from reservation holders, adding that Rivian had “just launched” the option.
A Rivian Roamer community sample of owner-linked configurations puts Coastal Cloud at 18% of tracked builds and Forest Green at 5% within weeks of opening.
Those are community counts, not company figures.
Production Ramp
Borealis R2s appearing on the line comes as Rivian continues to scale R2 output at Normal.
Community-tracked VIN assignments passed 9,400 by August 29, rising from about 6,000 in early August at a pace of 115 to 120 serials a day on a single shift.
A second shift at the plant is planned for later this month.
Chief Operating Officer Javier Varela said on the July 30 earnings call that no material volume contribution from the second shift is expected until the fourth quarter.
Rivian has guided to 20,000 to 25,000 R2 deliveries in 2026 within 65,000 to 70,000 overall.
Only the R2 Performance with Launch Package — priced from $57,990 — can be ordered. The Premium at $53,990 is due to begin deliveries later this year.
The Standard Long Range at $48,490 is scheduled for the first half of 2027, per Rivian’s July guidance.
With Forest Green and Coastal Cloud now generally available and Borealis visible on the production line, all eight R2 exterior colors have confirmed pricing and either an open order book or a September window.
