Limestone Rivian R1S: Full-Vehicle XPEL Ultimate Plus PPF, Prime XR Plus Ceramic Tint, and Matte Black Emblems at Bulletproof Auto Spa

Rivians are a regular sight at our Los Angeles facility, which makes sense since LA has long been one of the brand’s largest markets. This one stood out before it even rolled onto the lift. The Rivian R1S is the three-row electric SUV that made Rivian a household name among EV buyers, and this example arrived in a color that Rivian no longer offers, with a single goal from the owner: protect every square inch of it, keep the cabin cool, and give the exterior a slightly darker, more deliberate look while doing it.

The color is the story here. This R1S is painted in Limestone, one of the most distinctly Rivian finishes the company ever put on the configurator. In the shade, it reads as a soft, non-metallic warm gray, then does something unexpected in direct sun, shifting toward a pale powder blue thanks to a surprising amount of fine metallic flake buried in the base coat. Owners call it the chameleon color for a reason. It is also now a piece of Rivian history. Rivian retired Limestone for the 2026 model year to streamline its paint lineup, which means the R1S and R1T already wearing it are the last ones. Preserving the paint underneath was not a hard sell.

Under the Limestone, this is a second-generation R1S, the heavily reworked version Rivian introduced for 2025 with a new zonal electrical architecture that cut the vehicle’s ECU count from 17 to 7, in-house drive units across the board, a standard heat pump, and a completely redesigned software stack. The powertrain lineup starts with the Dual-Motor at 533 horsepower and 610 lb-ft (827 Nm) of torque, with 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in 4.5 seconds; the Performance upgrade lifts that to 665 horsepower and 829 lb-ft (1,124 Nm) and a 3.4-second sprint. The Tri-Motor brings 850 horsepower and 1,103 lb-ft (1,495 Nm) with a 2.9-second 0-60, and the flagship Quad-Motor delivers a frankly absurd 1,025 horsepower and 1,198 lb-ft (1,624 Nm), launching a seven-seat family SUV to 60 mph in around 2.6 seconds. The Max battery pack pushes EPA range to 410 miles (660 km), and every R1S tows up to 7,700 lb (3,493 kg).

What makes the R1S more than a fast box is the hardware that lets it leave the pavement. Standard air suspension lifts the body to roughly 14.9 inches (37.8 cm) of ground clearance in its tallest setting; the vehicle can wade through more than 3 feet (0.9 m) of water, and the Rivian Autonomy Platform uses 11 cameras and five radars to handle highway driving when the adventure is over. Inside, a full-length Dynamic Glass Roof tints electronically at the touch of a button, and the 15.6-inch center screen runs an interface rendered in Unreal Engine.

Buyers have taken notice. The R1S sold roughly 25,000 units in the United States in 2025, more than half of Rivian’s 42,247 total deliveries, and remains one of the ten best-selling EVs in the country and the best-selling three-row electric SUV without a Tesla badge. On pricing, a 2026 R1S Dual starts at $83,990 before destination, the Tri at $106,990, and the Quad at $121,990. With the Max pack, Performance upgrade, and all-terrain wheel package this one wears, the sticker lands comfortably in six figures. That is a serious investment in a vehicle whose entire purpose is to be loaded with kids, gear, and dogs and then driven somewhere dusty, which is exactly why it came to us.

Full-Vehicle XPEL Ultimate Plus PPF: Protecting a Color You Cannot Reorder

The build’s foundation is full-vehicle XPEL Ultimate Plus paint protection film, covering every painted panel from the front fascia and hood to the roof, doors, quarter panels, and split rear tailgate. Ultimate Plus is XPEL’s flagship clear film: an 8-mil elastomeric polyurethane that absorbs the energy of rock chips, gravel, and road debris before it reaches the paint. On a vehicle with all-terrain tires that spends time on fire roads and gravel lots, the rockers, rear quarters, and lower doors take a beating that no factory clear coat survives long.

We installed the film from bulk sheets, custom-cut by hand on the vehicle, rather than relying on pre-cut plotter patterns. The R1S has many surfaces that punish shortcuts: the wide flat hood, the vertical face of the oval headlamp surrounds, the tall fender flares, the roof rails, and the two-piece tailgate. Cutting on the vehicle lets our installers stretch the film past panel boundaries and wrap it around every edge, so no visible seam ends a few millimeters short of a door edge or hood lip. Every panel goes through a wet install and a high-intensity light inspection before we sign it off. Those wrapped edges are the difference between a film that disappears for a decade and one that starts lifting after the first pressure wash.

Ultimate Plus is also the right choice for Limestone specifically. The film is optically clear and adds depth and gloss, so the color shift from warm gray to powder blue is fully preserved and, if anything, slightly amplified. The self-healing top coat lets swirl marks and light scratches disappear with heat from the sun or warm water, and the film’s low surface energy means bug residue, bird droppings, and road grime release far more easily during washing. XPEL backs the film with a 10-year warranty against yellowing, cracking, and peeling. The paint underneath is sealed exactly as it left the factory in Normal, Illinois.

XPEL Prime XR Plus Nano-Ceramic Window Tint

The cabin received XPEL Prime XR Plus nano-ceramic window tint throughout. This is not a dyed film that darkens the glass and calls it a day. Prime XR Plus uses multi-layer nanoparticle technology to act as a genuine thermal barrier, rejecting up to 98 percent of infrared heat and blocking 99.9 percent of UV radiation without needing an overly dark shade.

On an EV, that matters beyond comfort. A cooler cabin means the climate system works less to maintain temperature on a Southern California afternoon, easing the load on the battery and helping protect real-world range on hot days. Just as importantly, the ceramic construction is completely signal-friendly, so it never interferes with the R1S’s phone-as-key access, wireless connectivity, or the 11 cameras and five radars that feed the Rivian Autonomy Platform. Optical clarity stays sharp at night, and the darker glass pulls the exterior toward the stealthier look the owner wanted.

Matte Black Emblem Upgrade

The finishing touch is a matte black emblem upgrade, replacing the factory bright-finish Rivian compass badges and the RIVIAN wordmarks on the doors and tailgate with matte black versions. It is a small change with an outsized effect. Against Limestone, the bright factory badging always read a little busy, and swapping it to matte black ties the emblems into the dark all-terrain wheels, the black fender flares and lower cladding, and the ceramic tint. The result is a cohesive, murdered-out accent scheme that looks like a factory Darkout option on a color Rivian never paired it with. The emblems were fitted after the film was laid down, so the PPF runs cleanly underneath them with no cutouts or exposed paint.

How Bulletproof Auto Spa Makes A Rivian R1S Shine

This Limestone R1S is a textbook example of complete protection on a new EV done right. Full-vehicle, custom-cut XPEL Ultimate Plus PPF locks in a discontinued color on every panel the road can reach; XPEL Prime XR Plus ceramic tint keeps the cabin cool, protects the interior, and helps preserve range; and the matte black emblems give the whole truck a sharper, more intentional identity. Nothing here is excess. Every choice serves the way the vehicle will actually be used, and the execution reflects the precision that defines every project leaving the Bulletproof Auto Spa facility in Los Angeles. This R1S is ready for the school run, the trailhead, and the 405, and it will look exactly this good years from now.

Take a closer look at the project in the gallery below, and feel free to contact us for a free paint inspection and quote for your own vehicle.