Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s personal R2 SUV was spotted parked in Laguna Beach, California on Sunday, the same day the founder shared photos of his family in the vehicle on social media.
A Reddit user posted images of the R2 parked on a residential street, noting the vehicle was unlocked with no one nearby.
The Illinois license plate — 3778 GA — matched photos Scaringe posted on Instagram showing his children and a dog sitting in the SUV’s cargo area with the rear glass dropped down.
The images confirm the R2 will feature a rear drop glass, allowing the window to fold down independently of the tailgate.
“Lots of R2 rear drop glass testing this weekend!” Scaringe wrote on Instagram. A separate picture showing the license plate was shared on Instagram Stories.
“We did a lot of work to create something that builds a really open-air experience,” Scaringe said at the R2 unveil event in March 2024.
“You just saw these quarter-windows pop out, and what that does is we leverage the negative pressure off the back of the vehicle to pull natural air through and it creates this beautiful open-air feeling,” Scaringe added at the time.
The rear drop glass also allows longer items such as surfboards to extend out of the cargo area.
Scaringe’s Instagram post highlighted the R2’s rear drop glass — a feature that allows the rear window to fold down independently of the tailgate, similar to the Toyota 4Runner.
The sighting of the CEO’s R2 vehicle comes as Rivian prepares for the R2’s commercial launch.
As EV reported earlier on Monday, a sales representative told a customer over the weekend that deliveries are planned to begin in mid-April with more than 300 miles of range.
Laguna Beach Sighting
The Reddit user, who posted under the handle “mbaran,” said the R2 was spotted in Laguna Beach, about 15 miles from Rivian‘s headquarters in Irvine.
The vehicle was wearing the distinctive blue and white “R2-D2” livery that Rivian has used on prototype units as a playful nod to the Star Wars character.
“I didn’t see anyone, just the car parked. It was unlocked so I’m sure someone was nearby recently,” the user wrote.
Commenters noted the vehicle was equipped with BFGoodrich Trail-Terrain tires rather than the Pirelli tires seen on earlier prototypes.
R2 Dual Motor
Recent teasing images and videos shared by Rivian on social media point to a Performance configuration of the R2.
Scaringe said late last year that the EV maker would begin production with a Dual Motor configuration.
However, the exact Performance Dual Motor configuration is yet to be confirmed by the Irvine-headquartered brand.
As seen with other carmakers, Rivian expected to prioritize higher-margin trims before scaling production and beginning manufacturing the entry level configurations.
The company has not confirmed whether the $45,000 base variant announced in 2024 will be available for 2026 deliveries.
Pricing details, range, colors, and trims remain unconfirmed.
Validation units of the R2 rolled off the production line at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois plant in mid-January.
The company is expected to release media reviews of the vehicle on Tuesday following an embargo that lifts February 10.
Rivian first announced the R2 platform in 2022, with an initial launch planned for 2025. Manufacturing delays and the priority on scaling R1 production pushed the debut to 2026.
The company unveiled the R2 in March 2024, announcing it would move production from Georgia to Illinois — a shift that saved approximately $2.25 billion.
