What the Next-Generation Rivian R1 Could Bring in 2027

With all the R2 talk lately it’s easy to forget the R1 is still the flagship, the truck and SUV that basically built Rivian into what it is. There’s a 2027 model year R1 due in the next few months, but I’m not expecting much from it. Rivian’s whole world has been R2 for a while now, so that refresh is probably going to be light. The one I’m actually paying attention to is the next-generation R1 expected around summer 2027, and since we’re all just guessing at this point, here’s my wishlist.

Start with second row captain’s chairs for the R1S. People have been asking for these basically since launch, and opening up that middle row changes the whole feel of the cabin for families. Pair that with the new steering wheel from R2, the one with the haptic roller controls. I’ve gone back and forth on whether I love capacitive rollers, but in person the R2 setup feels more deliberate than what’s on R1 today, so I’m optimistic if it carries over.

Bring back Forest Edge while you’re at it, even if it’s only a limited time interior. That color has a real following and it’d be a smart way to mark a new generation. New exterior colors too, because that’s always going to get people poking around the configurator.

The LiDAR is the one I care about most long term. Getting the R2 LiDAR system onto R1 is the hardware that feeds where Rivian wants to go with autonomy, and having it on the flagship makes a lot of sense.

Then there’s the bigger swings.

800V architecture is at the top of my list. Faster charging and better efficiency, and it would finally put R1 in line with where the rest of the premium EV world is heading.

While we’re talking charging, let me get a little nerdy. The Gen 2 pack is solid but it hits thermal limiting fast, and if you’ve actually sat and watched a session you’ve seen the rate drop off well before the battery is anywhere close to full. Some of that is just physics, but a lot of it comes down to the chemistry and how hard the pack has to fight to keep itself cool. I’d love to see the next R1 move to a cell that takes heat better and holds a higher rate for longer, whether that’s a more silicon heavy anode or just a smarter pack layout with proper cooling around the cells. Put that together with 800V and you’d actually feel it at the charger instead of watching the curve fall apart ten minutes in. For someone who roadtrips these as much as I do, that matters way more to me than shaving another tenth off the zero to sixty.

Vehicle to home charging is another big one. With the kind of battery R1 carries, being able to power your house during an outage feels like it should already be here, and I think a lot of owners would lean on it more than they expect. And an R2-style glovebox. Anyone who’s lived with the current R1 knows there’s basically nowhere good to stash your stuff, so even something that small is worth it to me.

A few more off the top of my head. A better sound system, because what’s there now is fine but never the showpiece it could be at this price. A heads up display so I’m not glancing down at the center screen as much. Rear wheel steering would do real work on something the size of an R1S, both for parking and on tight trails. Better range while towing wouldn’t hurt either, since that’s still where these things take the biggest hit. None of these feel wild.

Whether Rivian actually does any of this is a different question. Some of it costs real money to engineer and they’ve been pouring everything into getting R2 out the door, so honestly I could see the next R1 landing more conservative than my list here. I hope it doesn’t. The R1 carried this company for years before most people outside the EV world knew the name, and after all the R2 attention it’d be good to see it get a real swing again. Summer 2027 is a ways off though, and a lot can change between now and then.