R2 Lab Car revealed (in engineering facility video)!

[AirplaneDr]

Out of Spec Review posted a new video from the Rivian Palo Alto facility and managed to capture what I am almost certain is the R2 lab car. A lab car is apparently a complete electrical mock up used for testing. The video goes into more detail with an EDV, R1T gen 1 and R1T gen 2. There is a fourth lab car in the background that is completely ignored. This is what I think is R2.

The biggest clue is the seats. The seats shown in the R2 lab car match exactly with the seats revealed in validation builds (which are different than the white and now dark silver prototype used for the roadshows).

R2 Lab car seats:

R2 validation build seats:

Ignoring the difference in the seat colors they are exactly the same. The shape and contrast piping on the grey headrest are identical. Additionally these seats are not from R1 as they lack the central vertical stripe that R1 has.

There are no great images of the R2 but I did find a few OK views of the left and right sides:

Left:

Right:

The only really interesting detail I could see is from the front image:

Its a fairly blurry image but clearly shows something in the spot above the middle of the windshield that has been discussed at length after the cavity in that area has been noted in both the body paint photos and the validation builds. I don't know what this could be but looks too small to be LIDAR. Anyone else have a guess?

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[Mellowyellow]

LIDAR is getting smaller and smaller these days. Who knows? Maybe?

 

[JasonK]

It could be a camera. It also might just be where they mount the rear view mirror instead of attaching to the windshield.

 

[Dark-Fx]

They gave Kyle a tour of it.

 

[COdogman]

Kyle drove out of there with a hand built R2….

 

[Donald Stanfield]

The Ascend R1's don't have the center stripe in the seat either. They are that pattern. Those seats look like Ascend seats from what I can see although not completely as the bars down the center of the seat are different.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Out of Spec Review posted a new video from the Rivian Palo Alto facility and managed to capture what I am almost certain is the R2 lab car. A lab car is apparently a complete electrical mock up used for testing. The video goes into more detail with an EDV, R1T gen 1 and R1T gen 2. There is a fourth lab car in the background that is completely ignored. This is what I think is R2.

The biggest clue is the seats. The seats shown in the R2 lab car match exactly with the seats revealed in validation builds (which are different than the white and now dark silver prototype used for the roadshows).

R2 Lab car seats:

R2 validation build seats:

Ignoring the difference in the seat colors they are exactly the same. The shape and contrast piping on the grey headrest are identical. Additionally these seats are not from R1 as they lack the central vertical stripe that R1 has.

There are no great images of the R2 but I did find a few OK views of the left and right sides:

Left:

Right:

The only really interesting detail I could see is from the front image:

Its a fairly blurry image but clearly shows something in the spot above the middle of the windshield that has been discussed at length after the cavity in that area has been noted in both the body paint photos and the validation builds. I don't know what this could be but looks too small to be LIDAR. Anyone else have a guess?

Good eye. I think it just houses all of the cameras and sensors. Maybe it makes it easier to replace the windshield since they break so easily? Not just a Rivian problem by the way. Everyone is making things thinner and cheaper.

 

[Mellowyellow]

Cameras should be placed under the windshield. So when they get dirty, the wipers can clean them. If it sits in a separate housing above the windshield, and gets dirty, you’re just SOL.

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