Rivian has announced that its upcoming R2 SUV will go on a cross-country tour over the next two months as the EV maker prepares to begin delivering the first units to its employees over the next few months.
“It’s your time to get hands on with R2 while you see the new colors and hop inside to explore all the details,” the company stated while adding that the test drives will follow at a later stage.
The tour will begin in California — the company’s home state, and where most of its retail network is located.
“While we aren’t hitting the road for demo drives just yet, we’re ready to chat about your next great adventure,” the company added. Join us at one of the following cities for live music, local bites and interactive art.”
Demo drives are expected to begin this Summer, with demo vehicles arriving at select Rivian Spaces around July.
Tour Details
Between April 3 and 5, the R2 will be in Venice Beach, moving to Denver (Colorado) from April 17 to 19.
The following weekend, the R2 will be in Chicago (Illinois) between April 24 and 26.
In the first three days of May, Rivian will showcase the SUV in New York, at its Long Island showroom.
The last three stops are in the Southeast.
First is Atlanta, between May 8 and 10 — where Rivian established its East Coast headquarters last year.
A second factory in Georgia is under construction and projected to begin operations in 2028, supporting expanded R2 production alongside the future R3 and R3X.
The R2 will then go to Miami from May 15–17 and finish the tour in Nashville, Tennessee, between May 22 and 24.
Demo Drives
Last week, Rivian updated its R2 webpage to announce that demo drives are “coming soon,” as the company prepares to place the vehicle in showrooms ahead of first deliveries.
The updated page reads: “R2 is coming to select Rivian spaces this summer.”
A “Schedule” button directs visitors to book an R1S or R1T test drive in the interim.
According to X user RivianTrackr, who cited a source familiar with the matter, demo vehicles are expected at high-traffic Rivian Spaces and service centers “around July.”
Separately, Jim Hernandez, a Rivian Field Sales Manager at the company’s Scottsdale, Arizona, location, confirmed on LinkedIn that the R2 is not yet available to drive at his store but will be.
“The R2 is coming, and trust us, the wait will be worth it,” Hernandez wrote, adding that his team is “fully staffed” and ready to walk customers through the vehicle’s details.
The demo drive announcement follows the R2’s official launch on March 12 at SXSW in Austin, where the company revealed full specifications, pricing, and opened the online configurator.
Rivian also offered the first public R2 rides at the festival from March 13 to 18, though those were passenger experiences on a custom off-road course — not customer test drives.
Production and Deliveries
The R2 Performance Launch Edition, priced at $57,990, will be the first variant to reach customers, with deliveries to Rivian employees beginning before external customers in late June.
First external deliveries will go to existing R1 owners.
Production is set to begin over the next few weeks at Rivian‘s plant in Normal, Illinois, starting on one shift before adding a second later in the year.
The Normal, Illinois, plant has capacity for 215,000 vehicles annually, including up to 155,000 R2s.
Scaringe told CNBC that the R2 will make up the “majority” of Rivian‘s volume by the end of 2027.
Rivian has guided for 62,000 to 67,000 total vehicle deliveries in 2026, with management expecting R1S, R1T, and commercial van volumes to remain roughly in line with 2025’s 42,247 units — implying 20,000 to 25,000 R2 deliveries in the model’s first year.
Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe has called the R2 the vehicle that will transform Rivian into “a very large company” and the key to achieving sustained profitability.
R2 Rollout
The R2 will first launch with a Performance trim this spring.
The vehicle is equipped with a dual-motor all-wheel drive, 656 horsepower, and a 0-to-60 time of 3.6 seconds. It rides on an 87.9 kWh battery with 9.6 inches of ground clearance.
The Performance Launch Edition includes lifetime access to Rivian’s Autonomy+ hands-free driving system, a Rivian Green key fob, the signature Drop Glass rear window feature, and a tow package rated at 4,400 pounds.
After the limited Launch Edition, the regular R2 Performance will be available at a lower price.
The R2 Premium follows in late 2026 at $53,990, with 450 horsepower and a 4.6-second 0-to-60 time.
The Standard Long Range arrives in early 2027, and the $45,000 Standard — the price Rivian has promoted since the R2’s original unveiling in March 2024 — is not expected until late 2027.
After the Launch Edition, Autonomy+ will be available as a $49.99 monthly subscription or a one-time $2,500 purchase.
A second-generation autonomy system built on Rivian‘s RAP1 processor — featuring 11 cameras, five radars, and one LiDAR unit — is in final validation for a late 2026 R2 variant.
Last week, Rivian unveiled a 3D interactive builder for the online configurator of its R1 models.
According to Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid, “the new Rivian R1 interactive Builder, powered by Unreal Engine for a more immersive 3D experience,” will be “coming soon to R2!!”
Over the weekend, a Rivian spokesperson denied to EV that Chinese LiDAR maker RoboSense is the supplier for its upcoming R2 autonomous driving system.
The denial comes two months after circumstantial evidence had pointed to a supplier relationship between the two companies.
