Rivian R3: the small, cheaper Rivian with a rally-car soul, still waiting for a date. Everything we know

The R3 may be the most wanted car Rivian has not built yet. On March 7, 2024, in Laguna Beach, Calif., Rivian wrapped up the reveal of its R2 SUV with a surprise: a smaller, hatch-style crossover called the R3 and a wilder version, the R3X. Two and a half years later the R2 is on the road, and the R3 is still a web page with photos and a video.

The short version: there is no date, no price and no way to reserve one. Rivian says the R3 comes after the R2, that the tri-motor R3X launches first and that both will cost less than the R2. Its Georgia plant, where the R3 will be built, is due to start production in late 2028, and in June 2026 the CEO said the R3X was “a couple of years away.” The next chance for news is Oct. 29.

The surprise in Laguna Beach

Rivian called the R3 “tidy on dimensions” but big on performance, off-road ability, comfort and storage, with a hatch-style body, seats that fold flat and trunks front and rear. It published no measurements. Reports from the reveal filled in the rest: a wheelbase about 5.3 inches shorter than the R2’s, around 110.2 inches, and a body about 170.3 inches long, roughly 15 inches shorter than the R2. For comparison, Rivian lists the R2’s wheelbase at 115.6 inches.

Reporters at the event also described a tailgate with what Rivian calls Flipper Glass, an upper glass section that opens on its own so longer items fit. The R3X looked tougher, with a wider stance, more ride height, wider and knobbier tires and its own “rugged playful” interior colors and textures. Rivian has not confirmed any of these details on paper.

A rally car for the US and Europe

Rivian’s CEO, RJ Scaringe, set the tone in a magazine interview five days later. The R3 has “the soul of a rally car,” Scaringe said, and the R3X is “a tri-motor” with “insane performance” and torque vectoring, which shifts power between wheels in corners. Both were designed for the US and Europe, Scaringe said, though no European date came with it. Rivian’s line is that all its new models reach other countries after their North American launch.

Why the wait

Rivian explained the order on day one. Launching three vehicles at once had been hard, so the R2 would go first and get a smooth launch and a fast ramp, and the R3 and R3X would follow. In a podcast that July, Scaringe added a twist: the R3X comes first, with the base R3 after it. Asked when, Scaringe said: “As soon as we possibly can, but we’re not giving a date.”

That has not changed. A car magazine reported in 2024 that the production R3 was due around 2027, a target the Georgia schedule has since overtaken. In June 2026 Scaringe called the R3X “a couple of years away,” said Rivian has “a really clear idea on timeline,” and added: “We just haven’t announced the date.” An owners forum member recalls Scaringe saying in a TV interview that the R3X would come at the end of 2028 at best. We could not find that interview. Ignore the post that claimed R3X production had begun in Normal, Ill.: it ran on April 1 and was a forum member’s joke.

What it might cost

Rivian has given no price, only a direction. At the reveal it said the R2 would start around $45,000 and the R3 would cost less. Two months later Scaringe told an investor conference that a crossover on the R2’s platform “brings us into the price points” of the “mid to high 30s”, in thousands of dollars. A car magazine had reported $35,000 to $40,000 after its interview. In September 2026 Scaringe went no further than this: “We haven’t announced pricing yet, but it will move materially lower” than the R2, with a future R4 lower still.

The R2’s price list is the best yardstick. Its Performance Launch Package costs $57,990 today, a Premium version at $53,990 follows in late 2026, a Standard RWD Long Range at $48,490 in early 2027 and a cheaper Standard at $44,990 in summer 2027. Undercutting even that last one would put the R3 below $44,990, but Rivian has not said which R2 it is measuring against.

What Rivian has promised

The R3 shares the R2’s midsize platform, and Rivian says it was designed with a high level of commonality with the R2. At the reveal Rivian listed the same menu for both: single-, dual- and tri-motor versions, the quickest under 3 seconds to 60 mph, two battery sizes with over 300 miles of estimated range on the larger one, a native NACS port with 10% to 80% charging in under 30 minutes, and 11 cameras and five radars for driver assistance.

The R2 shows where those promises landed. Its Performance version has 656 hp, reaches 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and is rated up to 330 miles by the EPA, and Rivian plans to add lidar and new Rivian chips from late 2026. Rivian has not said whether the R3 gets them, or which motors each R3 version will use.

Georgia, late 2028

The R3’s home is a new plant near Social Circle, Ga. In January 2025 Rivian closed an Energy Department loan of up to $6.6 billion to build it, naming the R2 and R3, with customer vehicles due in 2028. At the kickoff ceremony on Sept. 16, 2025, Rivian planned two phases of 200,000 vehicles a year each and 7,500 jobs by 2030.

In April 2026 Rivian raised the first phase by half, to 300,000 vehicles a year, cut the loan to up to $4.5 billion and said Georgia “remains on track” to begin production in late 2028. The amended loan names the R2 and the R3, including the R3X, as the plant’s main vehicles, and in July Rivian again listed “upcoming models including R3.” A Rivian vice president, Tony Sanger, said in August: “We’ll have the buildings up in 2027.”

The R2 sets the pace

Everything waits on the R2. Rivian began public deliveries on June 9, 2026, after employee deliveries from April. In the third quarter it built 19,751 vehicles and delivered 19,248 across its lineup, and it expects 65,000 to 70,000 deliveries in 2026. The EPA’s 2027 list and NHTSA’s model list both include the R2. Neither has an R3 yet.

Can you reserve one?

No. Rivian’s R3 page has a video and a photo gallery and no reservation button. Rivian takes $100 refundable reservations for the R2, but has not opened them for the R3 or the R3X.

What to watch next

The next date is Oct. 29, when Rivian reports its third-quarter results with a webcast at 5 p.m. ET. Look there for any word on R3 timing and on the Georgia plant. We update this story as soon as Rivian names a date, a price or opens reservations.