I won’t say it’s “easy” to make a truly great $100,000 car, because I’ve never had to do it. But I will say that making a truly great $45,000 car means making hard decisions about what you can and cannot do. 

At Rivian, the R1S and R1T have evolved into two of the most impressive electric SUV and truck options on the market. But in order to grow, Rivian has to the forthcoming R2, R3 and R3X models into EVs that are truly special and more affordable at the same time. That’s no easy task.

But a new video from the automaker shows how it’s all going. And it’s clear from this, in case you didn’t know, that the R2 due out in 2026 will be much more than just a smaller and de-contented R1S. The R2 is said to begin around $45,000 before any tax credits or other incentives (should they exist) and that could open up the Rivian brand to a whole new crowd of customers, just as the Model 3 and Model Y did for Tesla. 

It starts with the collaboration between the engineering and design teams in a facility that’s a combination of an artist’s studio and a high-tech VR lab. Creativity meets feasibility, they call it. “There’s some cost constraints, and that’s something that’s very important [to achieve] without compromising the design itself,” one designer says. 

Photo by: Rivian

Then it moves to Rivan’s Powertrain Lab, where arguably the really interesting stuff is happening, because the innovations made there will be key to the R2’s attainable price tag. That’s where engineers show off Maximus, the automaker’s next-generation EV drive unit—the electric motor, power electronics and other components that move the wheels—for the R2 and R3 vehicles. 

And this is crucially important, because a drive unit is an expensive and vital part of any EV. But Maximus is designed to be smaller, cheaper, lighter and easier to manufacture than the R1 series’ Enduro units. It should in many ways be better, too, drawing from everything Rivian has learned so far: “It gives us higher performance, while reducing by an order of magnitude the number of welds, also simplifying manufacturing,” one engineer says. 

Photo by: Rivian

It’s also about 40% better on power density, he says, while being cheaper at the same time—a win-win. The Maximus drive unit is seen here undergoing internal testing of all types, but we know that real-world trials are now underway too. 

Next up are the improvements made to Rivian’s zonal architecture. We’ve covered this extensively before, but if you need a refresher, it’s the centralized computer and electronic “brain” of the car that enables everything from everyday performance to over-the-air software updates. Like Tesla and China’s automakers, Rivian was built to be vertically integrated, making the bulk of its components and software in-house to be able to control the entire production process from top to bottom. 

Photo by: Rivian

It concludes with a preview of the R2’s steering wheel with new haptic wheel controls (and upgrade over the R1 series’ current total reliance on the screen), the new computer hardware, and a tour of the testing center for the R2’s new midsize platform. 

Finally, and I find this especially fascinating, here’s a development mule that puts all these different components together for more advanced testing. After that comes a “proper” R2 for additional testing, and then one day, a car that you can buy.

Photo by: Rivian

All in all, it’s an interesting look at how a new EV comes together from the ground up—especially one that’s going to be far more than a cheaper and more stripped-down version of what Rivian already sells. The R2 and its platform-mates will literally drive the future of this company, and now apparently much of the Volkswagen Group as well. I’m excited to see where it goes next.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com