The Range Rover Velar will undergo a radical makeover next year, becoming an electric car with a genre-bending new body shape that will depart from its traditional SUV roots.
It is slated to be launched just a few months after the electric versions of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. But while those models will be virtually identical to their combustion siblings, the Velar will adopt a rakish new profile that fuses elements of saloons and shooting brakes with the more upright silhouette of an SUV.
The Velar’s international testing programme is now well under way and spy shots of prototypes suggest the upcoming car will be bigger than the current model, particularly in its length. That is no doubt in a bid to more obviously differentiate it from its Evoque and Range Rover Sport siblings – and potentially to free up space for a third row of seats.
It also appears to ride closer to the ground, which would cement its positioning as the 4x4 brand’s most road-focused model and pitch it as a more obvious rival to the likes of the Porsche Macan Electric and BMW iX.
Before JLR embarked on its wide-reaching ‘Reimagine’ transformation strategy, it was understood to have been developing a low-slung electric ‘Road Rover’ model that would have given Range Rover a rival to the likes of the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series but with some off-road ability. Plans for the Road Rover were put on ice when Jaguar scrapped the electric XJ it was to be twinned with, but the new Velar will adopt a similar ethos.
The interior will follow the full-size Range Rover with an emphasis on upmarket appeal and no doubt take influence from that car’s minimalist, tech-centric layout with a focus on advanced functionality and high-quality materials. Such features are crucial to the success of any premium model in the competitive US, Middle Eastern and Chinese markets.
JLR is working hard to ensure clear boundaries between each of its model lines, with Defender, Discovery and Range Rover each now operating as separate brands with distinct characters – all under the ‘trust mark’ of Land Rover. Range Rover will continue to be the most luxurious of the three, while Defender will lean on the go-anywhere abilities of its namesake model, and Discovery will be reinvented with a focus on family-friendly lifestyle credentials.
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Good idea to give the RR range a bit more of an individual identity. Once saw a slammed Q7 which was certainly eye catching and thinking about it quite practical in term of efficientcy which is what BEVs should be aiming for.
I'm surprised Halewood has the capacity to build 3 models, seeing that currently it just makes the Evoque and Disco Sport, with the E-Pace contracted out.
Road Rovers became the new EV Jaguars. Gerry McGovern finallly got his way, at the cost of the entire Jaguar brand.