Forty-two years ago the very first Range Rover was launched and although the car was praised for its unique road-going/cross-country capabilities nobody could foresee how this unusual car was to pave the way for what is known today as the ‘SUV sector’ which has seen a huge rise in market share over the last ten years or so.
There is almost no premium brand that has not launched or put forward concepts for an SUV in the past few years and since the likes of Bentley, Lamborghini and Aston Martin are showing serious intentions to enter this market segment Land Rover is constantly looking over its shoulder to keep an eye on the rest of the field who are desperate to play catch-up.
The original ‘Classic’ Range Rover was essentially a very simple design that offered the best of both worlds in terms of the on and off-road driving experience. The fact that the original design remained virtually unchanged until 1996 is pretty remarkable and when the P38 generation came along it became evident that the workhorse image of the Classic was being replaced by a car that had much greater ambitions – luxury was the word now being used to describe life with a Rangie.
The third generation ‘L322’ further emphasised the view that Land Rover were determined to move the RR away from the inevitable offerings from BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Porsche and from its launch in 1994 the car has stubbornly held on to the title of Best 4×4 By far. Not only could the Range Rover still whip the competiton on any off-road course but it still had the presence of a battleship while cruising down the high street on the way to the supermarket. A bit like a Rolls Royce.
So today, after the usual frenzy of ‘leaked’ camouflaged images on the Internet Land Rover has officially announced details of L405 the fourth incarnation of the King of off-roaders.
Logically, the car still is instantly recognisable as a Range Rover. The upright body with the slab sides, the clamshell bonnet design and the ‘floating’ roof are all there and will probably be there for many generations to come – they are the design cues that essentially tell your brain that you are looking at a Range Rover.
LR are telling everybody that L405 is the most luxurious Range Rover yet. They say it is lighter and stronger (because of the extensive use of aluminium) with much improved handling thanks to the newly designed four-corner air-suspension. It is also likely to be larger than the outgoing model. LR say there is 118mm more legroom for rear passengers and there will be a two-seat ‘Executive Class’ seating option which hints at where the new car will be heading – straight for the throats of Bentley, Mercedes and Rolls Royce.
Engine options will come in the form of the petrol Supercharged V8 plus TDV6 and TDV8 diesels. Already familiar power sources of the current model but good enough to be shoe-horned into the new model.
No confirmation yet on pricing but we expect that official news will be given at the Paris Motor Show at the end of September. LR are suggesting that they will be taking orders at that time too and deliveries are due to start in early 2013.
For further details of the new Range Rover or any other Land Rover model give The Car Spy a call on 01732 760699 or email sales@thecarspy.net
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