- No, the Rivian R2 is not lacking a rear wiper. The automaker truly hid the wiper proper contained in the tailgate.
- Which may look like a boring truth, however there’s loads to nerd out on when contemplating how the engineers selected that spot.
- EVs do not all the time have rear wipers to maximise aerodynamics, a lot to the consternation of homeowners.
There are two varieties of electrical automobile corporations on the planet: ones that slap components wherever they match, and others that apparently run computational fluid-dynamics simulations over essentially the most mundane options to squeeze each final ounce of vary out of their automobiles. Guess which one Rivian determined to be when designing the upcoming R2 SUV.
One of many tiny options that Rivian’s engineers obsessed over when designing the truck was the rear wiper. Finally, it was determined that the R2 completely wanted one, however it additionally wanted to have a rear window that would roll down and could not sacrifice miles for higher visibility within the rain. Many EVs, just like the Toyota bZ4X and authentic Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5, did with out rear wipers for varied causes—and this was not all the time a well-liked alternative with car-buyers.
So Rivian engineers did one thing unconventional and created a tiny recessed pocket that the rear wiper calls residence when not in use.
2026 Rivian R2 Prototype Drive
Photograph by: Patrick George
On the R2 prototype drive occasion attended by InsideEVs’ Editor-in-Chief Patrick George, Rivian’s design chief Jeff Hammoud defined why. The rear window rolls down, and other people might to retailer gear out of it, like surfboards. “[We couldn’t] bundle a rear wiper in a spoiler like another autos, as a result of there’s simply no packaging area for it,” Hammoud mentioned. “So your different choice is to connect it to the physique, one that does not look nice, however then additionally causes points in case you’re pulling issues out and in.”
The patent for the Rivian R2 rear wiper reveals it tucked into the tailgate.
Photograph by: USPTO
The second cause is the place issues begin to get deliciously nerdy. Though the R2 seems to be prefer it has the aerodynamics of a cinderblock, its stunning boxiness has a delicate teardrop form to the roofline that will get tucked beneath of the rear spoiler. Put a wiper and motor up there, and you’ve got ruined the form that enables for clean-flowing air. So the wiper could not dwell up high, both.
“Though we had this very nice two-box silhouette, aerodynamic effectivity was nonetheless one thing that was essential,” Hammoud mentioned.
Engineers validated that by testing out the consequences of mounting the wiper on the high in each CFD simulations and in dwell wind tunnels—however by no means on a validation truck that hit the highway, particularly when Rivian checked the mathematics.
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Supply: Patrick George
In truth, the automaker informed InsideEVs that by shifting the components into the pocket and out of the best way of the wind, it was in a position so as to add six miles to the R2’s general vary. Six miles, simply from the position of a windshield wiper.
And, sure, Rivian considered water and winter. The automaker says that the small pocket features a hidden drain that lets water move out from beneath the taillight so you are not driving round with a transportable chicken bathtub after a storm. It has a heating aspect to maintain the world away from ice and snow, plus Rivian tells me that it additionally has a couple of software program tips up its sleeve to boost the wiper out of its residence to place when inclement climate is inbound.
It is a tiny element. To most folk, a wiper is a wiper that serves one single function. However to Rivian and the R2’s staff, the wiper was only a piece of the massively essential puzzle that’s the R2.
