News : Closer look at the Range Rover L405

Words: Keith Adams Photography: Richard Walker

Range Rover L405

More photographs of the this year’s hottest new car, the Range Rover L405, reveal further details about the styling and proportions of Land Rover’s flagship. The camouflage does its best to try and disguise the lower, and sleeker glasshouse, squatter stance and the Evoque-like rising shoulder line. Also not too evident from this shot are the new wraparound front indicators and slimline rear lamp clusters.

We’ve already discussed the lighter L405‘s technical make-up, and its clever new modular aluminium underpinnings, but the good news is that we hear the Range Rover is ever more impressively strong than its predecessor. As it approaches its introduction, the new car has already been crash tested, and brushed off this trauma with ease.

On the road, we’re told that it’s more car-like than the L322. Much thought has gone into the design of the interior, with a the classy, functional and stylish new fascia that shows Land Rover has learned many lessons from the positive reception the Evoque’s received. An engineer familiar with the L405 programme said, ‘the new car is far less “blingy” than the outgoing car.’

Expect its launch the autumn.

Keith Adams

15 Comments

  1. Saw this on the M42 this evening. Nothing much to write home about. Looks like a Range Rover.

  2. Of COURSE it looked like a Range Rover – Landrovers has always been pretty evolutionary between models. A Defender looks pretty much like a Series II, which doesnt look that different to an SI. Besides, why throw away 40 years of brand recognition for a spurious restyle?

  3. Subtle evolution is the key to a flagship car like the Range Rover leaving more experimental design to the likes of the Evoque and Sport without alientating your traditional customers. Do you really want to go down the Audi route of one design, different sizes?

  4. Its a bit wedgy and has a droopy roof line – does this replace both the Range Rover and the Sport?

  5. Looks classy in those photos, the proportions are spot on.

    In those photos it also looks like the lower line at the rear behind the rear wheel does rise rather than having a low big chunky bumper.

    From previous spy shots it had looked like they were going all X5.

  6. @daveh
    I wouldnt have thought so for a second. RR will continue to push upmarket, the next Discovery Drug Dealer Edition will presumably fill the void and the Freelander WAG will take the smaller end.

  7. @2 – well observed. The Defender isn’t perhaps the best example – that’s still the ‘purist’ LR model, and is still based quite closely on the 90 & 110, which were in turn developments of the S3 – however, the link between the development of the Defender, which has been evolutionary, over the course of 60 odd years, and the Range Rover, in terms of platform, tech, engines, styling and market, is tenuous. The current Rangie was actually an attempt to bring the styling back in line with the classic Range Rover after the P38A managed to dilute the very things that made the original Rangie a modern classic. The current L322 is such a good attempt at apeing the Classic’s image, that it’s hard to see how it can be improved upon, without becoming a big Evoque. Similarly, after VW condensed the essence of Golf with the Mk4, subsequent versions have steadily diluted the cues, until we get to the Mk7, which could be anything!

  8. It all looks very encouraging from here, especially the quote in the article about it being “less blingy”. I’m looking forward to seeing it for real.

  9. Hey, I’ve just noticed, either they employ registered disabled development drivers, or the wretches have parked the car in a disabled space where they shouldn’t!!

    I certainly can’t see a blue badge on the screen….

  10. #13 This sort of thing is deeply frowned upon & discouraged by JLR, if it isn’t parked validly. Employees do get informed that when in JLR vehicles the company is being represented and so all rules of the Highway code etc. should be strictly adhered to and the vehicles shouldn’t be driven in a manner that reflects badly on the company.

  11. It certainly wasn’t displaying a blue badge – I went to take an interior shot but there was a blackout sheet covering it.
    Rich

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.