News : ‘Posh’ Evoque looks set to do the business

Keith Adams

Range Rover Evoque by Victoria Beckham
Range Rover Evoque by Victoria Beckham

A new top-line Range Rover Evoque has been launched at the Auto China 2012 motor show. The Victoria Beckham-designed Special Edition will be built to order, with no more than 200 leaving Land Rover’s Halewood factory. The car, which is the next step in a relationship between the model and Land Rover first revealed in 2010. Essential to the design is the high quality, hand-finished matt grey paint, with contrasting gloss black finishes on the roof, side, bonnet vents, wheel arches and wheels, giving the overall vehicle a stealth-like quality.

Further underlining the bespoke luxury theme of this vehicle is the use of rose gold accents on the unique 20in gloss black forged alloy wheels, badging and grille surround limited solely to this Special Edition. Complimenting the ultra-modern, stealth-like exterior is an elegant and luxurious interior. The four Sports design seats are finished in a semi-aniline Vintage Tan leather – with a bold, hand-finished ‘baseball’ stitch detail, chosen by Victoria as a tongue-in-cheek reference to her sporting husband, David. The same leather is also used to cover the door inserts, arm rests and central storage box lid.

Continuing the exterior theme is the application of rose gold to the interior where it can be found on the centre console rotary switches and Drive Select Rotary Shifter. Other surfaces have been deliberately understated to reflect the exterior through the extensive use of soft feel black paint on the switchgear, a piano black centre console and dark textured machined aluminium.

Ultra-luxurious mohair mats and microsuede headlining heighten the sense of occasion still further. The all-encompassing vision of this car extends to the loadspace which is trimmed in the same quality materials and will come with an exclusive four-piece leather luggage set lined in the same microsuede as the rooflining.

A hand-stitched leather wallet, with rose gold detail containing a guide to the exclusive features of the car, is co-branded Range Rover Evoque and signed by Victoria Beckham.  British luxury is a hallmark of both the Land Rover and Victoria Beckham brands. This special edition allows that impression to be further heightened through the use of the finest quality materials and craftsmanship, which highlight the already ultra-premium interior ambience of the Evoque.

Unique to this model is the Vintage-inspired tan leather in a semi-aniline finish which retains the grain and the softness of the hide for a gentler, more luxurious feel. Used on the Evoque’s Sports seats this bold, eye-catching design provides an inviting counterpoint to the exterior and is enhanced with a hand-finished ‘baseball’ stitch. The same leather is also used to cover the door inserts, arm rests and central storage box lid.

Ebony soft-feel paint has been used for all the switchgear while the gloss black exterior touches are mirrored here in the use of a piano black veneer on the centre console, bezels, door handles and air vents. Rose gold is used to subtle effect on the bezels on the centre console that control the heating and ventilation and around the Drive Select Rotary Shifter. Machined aluminium in a dark technical finish is used on the central ‘hockey sticks’ that frame the centre console.

Victoria Beckham inspired the exclusive and ultra-luxurious floor mats. The designer explained that, when she was a young girl, her father owned a Rolls-Royce and she would enjoy taking her shoes off to sink her bare feet into the thick carpeting. Range Rover’s designers replicated this for her by using mohair, usually reserved for luxury clothing, to make the mats. Another soft feel fabric, microsuede has been used for the rooflining.

Bespoke luggage completes the holistic design package that is the Range Rover Evoque Special Edition with Victoria Beckham. This four-piece set is based on the designer’s own luggage range, using the same high-quality internal structure and clothed in hand-stitched black leather. The set comprises ‘his and hers’ wheeled suitcases and matching wash bags, all of which incorporate the microsuede used for the rooflining and, as a finishing touch, the zip pulls are finished in smoked chrome, complementing the matt grey exterior finish.

Victoria Beckham explains the approach: ‘When I first started working with Gerry [McGovern] and the Design Team on the Evoque Special Edition I did a lot of research and created mood boards to show the team my love of timeless and classic design. I looked at yachts, luxury jets, classic cars, movies, personalities and fashion. It’s the small details that make all the difference. I want everyone who gets into this car to feel special and empowered by its quality and craftsmanship. I like that it feels luxurious but also has quite a classic edge to it as well as a contemporary feel.’

Land Rover’s Director of Design, Gerry McGovern, added: ‘Working with Victoria in our design studio at Gaydon certainly created a buzz within the team. But we quickly recognised our similar design tastes and ambition for this car. For example at the first meeting, Victoria herself inspired the use of rose gold. She was wearing dark clothes and no jewellery apart from a rose gold man’s watch. I was struck by the juxtaposition of the masculine watch on a very elegant, feminine wrist. We both agreed it was the ideal way to introduce a softer touch to this bold, assertive exterior colour scheme.’

Throughout the process we were keen to ensure that the vehicle would appeal equally to both men and women; in fact Victoria always maintained that she wanted David to be proud to drive this car. We fully enjoyed working with Victoria and I am confident this special edition will appeal to discerning luxury consumers globally.’

The first cars go to China, which is a massively growing market for Jaguar Land Rover (expect it to become the company’s biggest market in 2013), with the rest of world models coming online shortly after. All 200 cars come with a tailored luggage set and driver’s wallet signed by Victoria Beckham. John Edwards, Land Rover’s Global Brand Director, hopes that there will be more such models if this one proves to be a success.

 

Keith Adams

22 Comments

  1. Eighty…thousand…pounds! For an Evoque! It’s a fantastic car, but the price tag here is astronomical. But if it pays for the 3-Series rivalling Jag and the new Defender, then it’s all right by me.

  2. I must admit to liking the “vintage-inspired tan leather” and the matching luggage set, the latter of which echoes the picnic hamper set found in the Range Rover In Vogue special edition models first announced in 1981. All in all, far more tasteful than I was expecting and some creative thinking here in relation to colours and trims.

    But – and it is a big ‘but’ – Eighty thousand pounds for the privelage? That would buy me a lovely unregistered old stock 2012 Model Year Range Rover 4.4 Vogue SE finished in Buckingham Blue with a parchment leather interior, grand black wood and 20-inch ‘twin-blade alloy wheels’ and no chavvy ‘enhancement’ grille. This model alone would be more than special enough for me.

    Hopefully nearly all the examples of this Evoque limited edition will find homes in North America and China and bring in some additional revenue from export sales. I personally cannot see the logic of paying this amount for a low volume derivative of the Evoque that costs almost three times more than the entry level model, or £52,000 to be more precise.

  3. How times have changed for LR, it doesn’t seem 5 minutes ago they were screwing Maestro van rear lights onto a Disco and still using Marina flap handles for the doors of RR’s….At least the Defender still has Marina indicator/wiper stalks! I reckon Posh Spice should have a go at them

  4. Err, no thanks, it’s too dark for me. Silver wheels and chrome ta. I have never been a fan of piano black inserts.

  5. Even if I wanted an Evoque I wouldnt want one of these (hate black alloys). Why would anyone want a car influenced by Vic Beckham anyway?

  6. Well I’m hardly likely to be the target market for this car so couldnt care less if it was sky blue with Pink spots. What is again significant is that the British car industry has fully understood its target market and capitalised on it. Who would have ever thought we would be able to say that?

  7. As has been said before, the Evoque does nothing extraordinarly well to justify even its entry level price, but there are plenty of people out there prepared to pay for this chintzy fashion accessory.

    Shallow as it may be.

  8. I am beginning to think that Land Rover has a stronger image than Jaguar if it can command these sort of prices for a car based on a Focus platform. I hate to think of the profit margin! I wish Range Rover would develop a saloon car to replace the P6 on the same platform and really compete with the BMW 3 series. It would need a 4/5 door saloon, a coupe and a convertible all with that chinzy honeycombe grille. Range Rover P7 Series anyone! Starting price 24,995 rising to 39,995 for the 3.0 Diesel Vitesse.

  9. @8

    Posh Spice did say that she wanted to ‘design’ a car that both her and Dave would want to drive!

  10. Simon – good idea, but aren’t Jaguar supposed to be bringing out a future X Type replacement to go up against the 3 series BM and Audi’s/ Your spec format sounds just what’s wanted

  11. I heard the woman on the radio talking about this before seeing the car. The way she went on about how passionate she was about design and this ‘project’, you would’ve thought she had designed it from scratch.

    In reality its just an Evoke with overpriced ‘premier footballer/drug dealer’ trim. I expect the actual designers employed on this project had to carefully steer her away from suggesting the interior was kitted out with Burberry cloth and glittery gold paintwork.

    I expect I am not the only one who has sat in a standard one of these and made appreciative noises about how nice the interior/exterior looks, how well made it is etc. only to double-take at the price.

  12. @ James:

    Your are right about the level of involvement Mrs Beckham ultimately had in the Evoque SE project. She is not a trained graduate car designer who ultimately understands about trim and component durability, assembly design, ergonomics or occupent safety; she was ‘merely’ a design consultant on this project.

    Sadly most of the media are very lazy and somewhat uneducated when it comes to understanding what it takes to become an interior car designer, and so are unjustifiably ‘playing up’ the role, skills (and importance) of Mrs Beckham in this project. To the unitiated it hardly shows Land Rover’s designers in a particularly flattering or skillful light, does it?

  13. @10

    How can you even think of putting vitesse on somthing with a tractor engine?? 4 litre supercharged V8 Petrol ONLY Vitesse you mean

  14. David 3500, there’s nothing new in journos not having a clue about what it takes to do a job – that’s why they talk about people who bolt down railway tracks as “engineers”.

  15. Why use an ex (and not very good)pop star whose only present claim to fame is her husband? Surely her skills in design must be rudementary and would have require substantial reworking to produce a product that customers of this calibre would buy.

    i have nothing against Mrs Beckham, but each to their own and let her stick to clothes or something more suited to her celebrity status.

  16. Oh, how very Cheshire.

    Just as its ‘designer’ was once described as a “pointless collection of body parts”, so this thing is a pointless collection of car parts.

    But, as Paul (#7) rightly says, JLR have fully understood their target market. I’m sure it will sell like, well, Spice Girls records – good luck to ’em.

  17. £80k for something based on a developed Mondeo platform: what a money spinner! Anyhow am finding it rather tasteful.

  18. I also find the result tasteful! Never thought I’d say that about VB, but it’s true: it’s all about the detailing, the floating roof looks great(R8)the use of black here and there etc…Understated and classy, at 80K a pop, LR must be laughing all the way to the bank, and relish in the brand strength they have built up over the last few years. As ” The WAG ” of all wags, Mrs Becks knows what she wants and how she wants it done, her main job is to spend Mr’s colossal fortune, so buying an Evoque costing as much as a Range is a good way to do so!!! Let alone, it’s easier to park… One last thing: How do you say WAG in Chinese or Arab? LOL

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