Inside the R2 Console Organizer: Why We Redesigned Every Edge

When we started on a console organizer for the Rivian R2, the plan was simple: take what worked on the R1 and resize it. That plan lasted about a day.

The console isn't square

The R1's center console is basically a rectangle, which makes a sliding tray straightforward. The R2's console flares wider toward the front of the cabin. For a sliding tray that's a problem: the rails have to stay parallel so the tray doesn't bind, which leaves a wedge of extra space on both sides as the console widens.

Our first pass just made the rails wider to fill that space. It worked mechanically, but it created a finish problem. Printed at that width, the rails came out with a visibly different surface texture than the tray sitting next to them. Same printer, same material, different look. Not the clean, matte black finish we wanted in a Rivian.

Removable rails, printed differently on purpose

The fix was to stop treating the rails as one solid piece. We print the top layers of the rails separately, as removable caps, instead of printing the full rail width in one pass. That keeps the visible surface matte black and consistent with the rest of the organizer, and it keeps production cost in check, since we're not printing a wider, slower part just to fill dead space.

It also opens a door we hadn't planned on. Because the rail caps are their own piece, they can be printed in a different color without touching the rest of the organizer. A few people have already asked about yellow. If there's enough interest, that's a real option.

A little more room to reach the bottom

Underneath the sliding tray is a deeper storage bin, and getting a hand down into it was tighter than we wanted. Two changes fixed that: we squared off and slightly shortened the front and back edges of the tray plate, and we let the tray slide all the way forward instead of stopping short.

Sliding the tray fully forward means it can meet the console cover. That's expected, not a flaw. The cover has a built in angled edge that catches the tray and gently pushes it back when the cover closes. You don't have to remember to slide the tray back yourself; the geometry handles it.

One key ring holder instead of three

Earlier versions had three key ring holders built into the tray. We cut that to one. It gave up a little key storage in exchange for real space to stand up taller, slimmer items: the owner's manual, sunglasses cases, pens, or anything else that doesn't lie flat.

Room for a cable, if you want it

One detail most people won't notice: there's about a millimeter of clearance at the front of the lower bin. That's deliberate. It's sized for anyone who wants to tuck a small SSD under the bin and run its cable up to the USB port without the organizer pinching it.

See it in the console

Every one of these changes came out of actually living with the console, not a spec sheet. See the R2 Console Organizer or the all black Black Ops edition.