Rivian R2 Performance Rewrites the Brand's Playbook With 656 HP and a $59,485 Starting Point

Rivian could have coasted. When your first two production vehicles — the R1T pickup and R1S SUV — arrive to strong reviews, the safe corporate move is to milk that platform for years while the investment amortizes. CEO RJ Scaringe’s team chose the harder road instead, engineering an entirely new midsize electric crossover from the ground up. The result, the Rivian R2, has already collected a Wards 10 Best Engines and Propulsion Systems award, and the reasoning behind that recognition is easy to trace once you look under the sheetmetal.

Despite a family resemblance to the larger R1S, the R2 shares almost nothing structural with its bigger sibling. Its platform, battery pack and drive units are all new. At the top of the lineup sits the R2 Performance, which pairs two in-house “Maximus” permanent magnet synchronous AC motors for a combined 656 hp and a hefty 609 lb-ft of torque. Rivian quotes a 0-60 mph sprint of 3.6 seconds, and testers who drove the vehicle saw no reason to doubt that figure. Those Maximus units were designed to pack more power density than the “Enduro” drive hardware used in the R1, integrating motor, inverter and gearbox into one compact assembly — and doing so at roughly 30% lower cost.

That cost discipline shows up directly on the window sticker. The R2 Performance, the range-topping trim, opens at $59,485. Wards judges singled out the pricing as a standout, noting that buyers are getting a serious amount of output for the money. The battery strategy reinforces the same philosophy: Rivian uses 4965 cylindrical cells from LG Energy Solution with an NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum) chemistry, arranged into three modules of 256 cells each. Usable capacity lands around 87 kWh. Fewer, larger cells translate into less assembly work, fewer welds and fewer interconnects — a simpler pack with fewer potential failure points. Both the drive units and the battery are built at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois plant.

On the road, the R2 Performance channels its output through a rear-biased all-wheel-drive setup, which makes it eager off the line. Reviewers found the crossover genuinely comes alive above 45 mph, with a semi-active suspension using sensor data to keep the body planted through high-speed cornering. EPA-estimated range is 330 miles, a figure that matched real-world testing. The native NACS charge port means drivers can plug into Tesla Superchargers in addition to Rivian’s own Adventure Network, with a 10% to 80% top-up on a DC fast charger estimated at under 30 minutes.

Rivian markets its vehicles around outdoor adventure, but the practical reality is that most R2s will spend their lives on highways rather than trails. The R2 Performance happens to be well suited to both — and it signals that Rivian is no longer a one-platform company still finding its footing, but a manufacturer capable of iterating quickly on motors, batteries and electronics.