Rivian surprises with R3 and R3X crossover electric SUVs

Rivian took a page from Elon Musk and had “one more thing” to show off during its R2 reveal event in California today. And it was a stunner.

The Rivian R3 is a slightly shorter, sportier-looking electric SUV than the R2, and it will come in a performance variant badged as R3X. Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said the R3 “takes the package of R2 platform [and] shrinks it.”

The R3 is “designed with even tighter dimensions–and at a lower price point–than R2,” the company says — though it didn’t immediately release the price of the R3. Reservations for the R3 will start at a later date.

The R3 and R3X have sloping rear-ends as compared to the boxier R2. And the dimensions are overall a lot tighter than the mid-sized SUV.

Rivian says that R2 and R3 will feature two battery sizes. The larger pack will achieve over 300 miles of range on a single charge and offer 0-60 mph acceleration in under 3 seconds for the quickest powertrain configuration.

“This is the vehicle when we walk around in the studio every season you’re like oh, I want that so bad,” Scaringe said.