All-new Range Rover GT is 'most car-like' ever
Fifth member of the Range Rover family makes good on Land Rover's long-held Grand Tourer ambitions
It’s been nearly ten years since the Velar was introduced as the fourth plinth of the Range Rover lineup, bridging the gap between the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport with precisely the kind of stylish crossover SUV that mainstream buyers appeared to crave. By dint of its low roofline and swept-back attitude - and the fact that the model shared its D7a underpinnings with the Jaguar XF - there was much referencing at the time of the unrealised 'Road Rover', a ’50s-era effort to smoosh Land Rover 4x4 usability and saloon (or more appropriately, station wagon) drivability together into a single, crowd-pleasing product.
So while the fifth member of the family, the newly revealed Range Rover GT, might aspire to the kind of ‘white space’ it identified when first unveiling the Evoque, the underlying concept of a car that combines ‘peerless long-haul comfort, effortless performance and signature Range Rover breadth of capability’ is not a new one internally. Or indeed externally: Lamborghini, buoyed by the Urus’s reception, has often threatened to launch a car with similar cross-segment appeal. More broadly, there are a veritable raft of (mostly German) SUVs that cleave off some headroom in the pursuit of a more coupe-like profile.
But those are obvious compromises. In contrast, the Range Rover GT is based on a new EMA (Electric Modular Architecture) platform said to be distinct from the one used by the Jaguar Type 01 - even if it does borrow some of the same ideas regarding proportions and glasshouse height. As the name suggests - and unlike the older MLA-Flex configuration used by both the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport - this was designed from the ground-up specifically for EVs, and the GT will initially be offered as a Battery Electric Vehicle exclusively. Though (unlike the JEA), Land Rover has already conceded that it retains the ‘flexibility’ to create a petrol-electric hybrid later in the lifecycle.
Moreover, there is a good reason why Land Rover has opted to unveil the GT with a longer look at the interior. Rather than carrying over an existing Range Rover layout, the new model previews an entirely new cabin, one meant to convey a ‘warm, reductive space, inspired by contemporary interior design’. And though you may not consider the emphasis on horizontal lines or the introduction of a slimline driver display as particularly novel, it is hard to take immediate issue with a four-seat layout that’s meant to be a ‘sanctuary of calm’. Frankly, the absence of a giant, dashboard-spanning screen feels like a conspicuous win for the GT’s less-is-more ambience.
Less so perhaps the absence of a single physical button on the centre console - though Land Rover’s current lineup is already a long way down that road (possibly too far, given the dictates of incoming legislation) - and not everyone is going to embrace the Starship Galactica-style column shifter nor the Art Deco-ish forms that some elements invoke. But we’re inclined to like the ‘woven textile’ featured on the dash, as well as the far-reaching effort to harmonise around a common theme and reduce clutter. In the rear, the vast panoramic roof is clearly intended to provide the additional headroom lost to the plunging roofline, and the GT will certainly get Range Rover levels of legroom.
Underneath, though its maker does not delve into the technical specification, you can expect Range Rover levels of terrain-defeating effortlessness, most likely of the sort we recently experienced in the Sport Electric. “The Range Rover GT will redefine the grand-touring segment with the ability to deliver beautiful and engaging GT poise, proportions and long-distance refinement while offering capabilities no conventional GT can match,” said Range Rover MD, Martin Limpert.
“We have spent the last few years working obsessively on the fundamentals of the GT formula, reinterpreted in a sophisticated, uniquely Range Rover way,” he added. “The result is the most car-like, yet unmistakably capable, Range Rover ever created, now possible on our electrified EMA architecture – complementing our existing powertrain portfolio to deliver a complete set of options for every customer need. Its blend of effortless EV performance, first-class long-haul refinement and all-terrain capability is pure Range Rover; while its calming interior previews our vision of a modern grand tourer.”
If that all sounds like your cup of tea, expect more news to follow later this year. So far as EVs are concerned, Land Rover’s timeframes have become somewhat fluid in recent years - the Range Rover Electric’s programme having suffered significant delays - though you’d imagine with that car’s launch imminent, and Halewood already nominated as the manufacturing facility, the roll-out of new electrified product will now gather pace. At any rate, the GT prototypes are already said to be at the ‘final on-road testing’ phase. You’ll know them from the ‘flowing gold pattern’ invoked in the camouflage, if you happen upon one. And, of course, the fact that this is a Range Rover like no other.
However I'm just mourning a time that has passed, where a brand name like Range Rover was allied to purpose and signified what the car was going to be used for.
Is "Range Rover" just Land Rover's category brand name for "most premium and luxury: now? Clearly this is the case.
I just shudder knowing that these will be specced in white but with a black "contrast" roof blending into the pillars and inevitable privacy glass, all of which completely ignores the "floating roof" DNA that Spen King came up with.
I just know they will have 22" diamond cut black wheels.
I just know there won't even be an option to order in clear glass. That the colour palette will be greys, primer grey, black, a muted steel grey blue, a weird faed green.
I give up...
Long and lower designs will make it easier to achieve range figures for EVs. It'll be marketed as being "sleeker" than SUV designs to make it sell.
Them when the energy density problem of batteries is solved in a few decades, we'll be sold a new generation of SUVs as having a "commanding" driving position.
That said... If you ignore the badge (which is just a badge these days), this looks to be a good concept. Almost like an updated iiPace, one could say.
I think I'll want to hate it but actually admre it. If it helps British jobs instead of being farmed out to Magna Steyr, then that'd be a real shot in the arm for the regional.economy.
However I'm just mourning a time that has passed, where a brand name like Range Rover was allied to purpose and signified what the car was going to be used for.
Is "Range Rover" just Land Rover's category brand name for "most premium and luxury: now? Clearly this is the case.
I just shudder knowing that these will be specced in white but with a black "contrast" roof blending into the pillars and inevitable privacy glass, all of which completely ignores the "floating roof" DNA that Spen King came up with.
I just know they will have 22" diamond cut black wheels.
I just know there won't even be an option to order in clear glass. That the colour palette will be greys, primer grey, black, a muted steel grey blue, a weird faed green.
I give up...
But as i said, i see your point and i agree with you
Despite me being over 70.
But the key thing for me would be real world driving with screens not buttons.
I will ask some of my Tesla driving colleagues what driving without buttons is like.
My 15 year old L322 RR has about 50 of the things
For me that's peak design for adjusting things safely on a traffic laden road.
But I am open to being persuaded that the sleek interior of this car is better.
A week's loan of a Range Rover GT should decide it, if anyone at JLR is listening.
Basically this RR looks like the normal RR with a Cayenne Coupe appended in its behind. The exterior result is not too bad, but the interior … my goodness this is so Chinese - and the Chinese are moving away from this!
Basically this RR looks like the normal RR with a Cayenne Coupe appended in its behind. The exterior result is not too bad, but the interior my goodness this is so Chinese - and the Chinese are moving away from this!
And that spartan, designed-with-a-ruler interior doesn't say "luxury" to me. The "stuck-on iPad" trope has been done to death but it's particularly jarring for not being better integrated here, given all of the straight lines elsewhere.
More interesting is the fact that JLR appears to be dropping the Jaguar brand entirely now. This type of vehicle would traditionally align more to the Jaguar brand, especially with the move to Jag EV’s. but they have chosen to apply the LR brand to it.
I just know there won't even be an option to order in clear glass. That the colour palette will be greys, primer grey, black, a muted steel grey blue, a weird faded green.
Other thoughts.
1. "But those are obvious compromises. In contrast, the Range Rover GT is based on a new EMA (Electric Modular Architecture) platform said to be distinct from the one used by the Jaguar Type 01" - well, that was stupid, wasn't it? Oh look, VAG save a ton of money using the same platform for loads of models. I've got a great idea, lets not do that!
2. Building on that, I can't see why this isn't badged Jaguar, especially since they're making Jag EV only. Wouldn't it have been sensible to (a) platform share and (b) lead with the Jag if you're leading with electric?
3. The dash is just stupid. In terms of crimes against humanity, the idea of replacing all control surfaces except the wheel and pedals with a giant tablet is not going to be in Elon's top 10, but it's actually probably the most far-reaching. Other luxury companies are already starting to reintroduce buttons, so starting a new model with effectively the dash found in cheap base model cars is not the way forward.
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