Land Rover's coupe-alike SUV gets the Victoria Beckham special edition treatment
Land Rover has unveiled a special edition Range Rover Evoque at the Beijing show, designed with the help of Victoria Beckham.
Can we have the whole car in shot, please?
We knew this day was coming - the celebritisation (That's not a word, Riggers - Ed) of product design has been going on in clothes, handbags shoes and sporting equipment for ages, so its transferral to cars was inevitable. And its transferral to the Evoque pretty much a fait accompli as soon as Victoria Beckham was announced as a Range rover 'Brand Champion' back in 2010.
So what exactly what are the fruits of the award-winning British fashion designer's/wife of David Beckham's/Spice Girl's (delete as preferred) labours? Well, they are a 200-example limited edition, featuring the following: hand-finished matt paint, rose gold accents on the grille surround, badging and 20-inch gloss black forged alloy wheels, vintage-inspired leather seats with hand-finished feature stitch, rose gold-plated accents, bespoke luggage, and luxurious trim materials - including mohair. Yes, we did just write mohair.
That's...ummm...a bit better
The Special Edition Evoque is also the first product of JLR's 'Engineered to Order' division, along with the new Jaguar XJ Ultimate.
If you fancy getting your hands on one of the 200 cars, you will have to pay quite a lot for the privilege - it's expected to cost in the region of £80,000. At which price you've got to have a real soft-spot for mohair...
Haters gonna hate. I thought this edition was all about the interior fitment of premium materials? Bit of a useless article without the pics of the interior.
Haters gonna hate. I thought this edition was all about the interior fitment of premium materials? Bit of a useless article without the pics of the interior.
Land-Rover. Vehicle of choice for driving into the most extreme terrain on the planet, and treading all over the interior in muddy boots.
When Terance Conran designed the interior of the Discovery, he approached it with the principles of good design and modernism in mind. Controls needed to be used while wearing gloves, carpets needed to be removable, surfaces needed to be wipe-clean, and the 'curry hook' came about because luggage needed to be secured.
When Victoria Beckham designs the interior of a Land-Rover, she turns it into a delicate luxury boudoir. Yes, so it may sell well in the short term, but in the long term I do fear for Land-Rover's brand values.
Of course I am prepared to accept that I simply do not understand the marketing of cars in places like China, where no doubt this sort of endorsement may lead to sales.
But if I see one of these in the UK, then I will not be able to contain my hatred of it.
It is an awful, awful thing, promoting the values of a talentless half-wit and sending a message to the nation that being st but famous is all that matters.
Land Rover PR may well know what they are doing in the emerging markets, but in the UK market this is enough to put me off the brand and reduce the chances of ever buying one.
Maybe LR PR should only tell the Chinese, Malaysian or Indian markets about this and not issue PR in the UK. Here, it can only be counter-productive.
But then, I am extremely old and with the fashion sense of a turtle. I seem to understand modern culture less and less these days.
Of course I am prepared to accept that I simply do not understand the marketing of cars in places like China, where no doubt this sort of endorsement may lead to sales.
But if I see one of these in the UK, then I will not be able to contain my hatred of it.
It is an awful, awful thing, promoting the values of a talentless half-wit and sending a message to the nation that being st but famous is all that matters.
Land Rover PR may well know what they are doing in the emerging markets, but in the UK market this is enough to put me off the brand and reduce the chances of ever buying one.
Maybe LR PR should only tell the Chinese, Malaysian or Indian markets about this and not issue PR in the UK. Here, it can only be counter-productive.
But then, I am extremely old and with the fashion sense of a turtle. I seem to understand modern culture less and less these days.
I have to agree with you I would be put off an otherwise good car just because of this one model.
But this car is not for the average PH'er. There target market is probably more Chelsea, TOWIE, WAG's etc. For the UK at least. Chinese love western things so this will fit in there.
t but famous is all that matters.
