The Rivian R1 Has A New Color And It Absolutely Rocks

Rivian revealed its new limited-run Borealis color, proving that it knows how to be cool in a sea of boring monochrome.

Photo by: Rivian

By: Rob Stumpf

Dec 4, 2025 at 9:11am ET

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Rivian revealed a sweet new purple limited-run color for the R1.
Its design studio calls the color 'Borealis', we call it fun in a sea of monochrome.
Automakers take note: this is how you stand out.

I've had a bone to pick with Rivian ever since it did away with Compass Yellow. It was a good color, and the world has enough monochrome cars to last a lifetime. Thankfully, RJ Scaringe and crew have redeemed themselves by releasing a new splash of color this week—and my goodness, is it great.

Meet Borealis. Rivian revealed the shade of purple during Art Week Miami Beach, almost a year after it was first spotted in public with zero explanation. Now Rivian is offering buyers to opportunity to buy a new R1 in its latest hero color, which is totally something you should do.

Listen, I get that a color that makes your EV look like a giant Grimace-mobile isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. I, for one, think that it looks fantastic. Plus, in a sea of white, gray, and black paint, I'm all about giving the world a bit more color.

Colorful vehicles often depreciate less over time. While Purple didn't make it onto ISeeCar's color study for 2025, it did previously. Back in 2022, purple paint ranked as the third most valuable color on cars (yellow and orange took first and second place, in case you were wondering).

Gallery: Rivian R1 Borealis Color

Source: Rivian

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Rivian's design studio has been pretty accommodating to radical colors that consumers can actually buy. Launch Green and Compass Yellow are the two most notable, but these are just the tip of the color iceberg. You can actually buy the R1 in 10 different colors today, six of which aren't some form of monochrome. Its use of yellow and teal as accent colors is also refreshing to see.

Now here's where the FOMO kicks in. Rivian is only making the color available on the Tri-Motor and Quad-Motor trims. It's a $3,000 option, and it's only available for a "limited time." The automaker noted that it will be purging Limestone from its color palette moving forward and was originally set to remove its flashy Red Canyon, too (but has since clarified that it would continue to be available throughout 2026).

Automakers should take notes here. Rivian continuing to offer a range of colors on their vehicles is something I really, really appreciate. EVs seem to have pretty limited customization options, so to buy something from the factory that feels a bit less mundane overall is surprisingly invigorating.

It also gives me some serious home for the upcoming R2 and R3. Rivian's design studio drummed up some pretty cool interior color options that didn't make their way into the roadworthy concepts, so we should be crossing our fingers that an EV maker moonlighting as a lifestyle brand will also be flashy on the outside.

Until then, enjoy some big purp goodness on the R1.