Rivian surprises with an R3 modeled after the first Volkswagen Golf

(Motorsport-Total.com) – The new Renault 5 was recently introduced as an electric car. In the next few years there could be an R3 as well as the R5 and R4 from Renault. But this comes from the USA. Visually, it looks like an ID.Golf in the style of a Golf I, something VW wouldn't dare do. But Hyundai's Ioniq 5 also shines.

During the unveiling of the new Rivian R2 The rising automaker has surprised SUVs with a smaller, cheaper crossover, the R3. “We are excited about what this model has to offer beyond the R2,” RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian, said at the unveiling ceremony. “It takes the R2 package, the R2 platform, to pare it down and bring it into our view of ‘What is crossover?’”

While the R2 is slightly smaller than Rivian's first SUV, the R1S, the R3 is slimmer. According to Scaringe, the R3 has a wheelbase five centimeters shorter than the R2. At 4.58 meters long, the R3 is about the size of a Volkswagen ID.4. The R2 and R3 are both based on the same platform, and the smaller SUV will also be available with single, dual and triple-motor engines.

Details aren't known yet, but we do know that the R3X will come with three engines. And if the R2 can travel 300 miles (480 km) on a single charge while hitting 60 mph (96 km/h) in less than three seconds, the R3X should be even faster.

Rivian didn't reveal many details about the R3, but said it will cost less than the estimated $45,000 of the R2. Deliveries of the R2 are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2026, while the R3 will likely have to wait until 2027.