Range Rover : New Evoque previewed at brand’s 40th Anniversary party

The first official picture of the all-new compact Range Rover is released today, following an exclusive preview at Kensington Palace in London for guests attending a 40th Anniversary celebration of Range Rover held in partnership with VOGUE magazine.

Named the Range Rover Evoque, this all-new coupé will join the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport line-up in the summer of 2011. It will be the smallest, lightest and most fuel efficient Range Rover ever produced. Customers have a choice of both a 4WD and a 2WD version, with a sub 130g/km CO2 demonstrating the Range Rover brand’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

Phil Popham, Managing Director of Land Rover said: “Today is a very special occasion for Range Rover, not only are we celebrating 40 years of the brand, we are also demonstrating our exciting future by showing the all-new Range Rover Evoque. Range Rover is one of the most highly regarded and iconic vehicles in the history of motoring and has been a continuing success since we first introduced it in 1970.

The Range Rover Evoque will be built at our multi-award winning plant in Halewood, creating 1,000 new jobs in the Merseyside area, a fantastic boost to the UK economy. The Halewood plant has a reputation for excellence and quality and is recognised throughout the industry as a leader in Lean Manufacturing.” Phil Popham, Managing Director, Land Rover

“The Range Rover Evoque is an important step for the future continued success and growth of the brand. Customers can be confident that the new car will be premium, luxurious and just as special as the other Range Rover models. Its sporting looks and unique qualities will open the brand to a new group of customers who may not have considered a Range Rover product before.

“The Range Rover Evoque will be built at our multi-award winning plant in Halewood, creating 1,000 new jobs in the Merseyside area, a fantastic boost to the UK economy. The Halewood plant has a reputation for excellence and quality and is recognised throughout the industry as a leader in Lean Manufacturing.

“The Evoque is a true global car and will be sold in over 160 countries. It was important to give the car a name that was instantly recognisable through language and cultural boundaries throughout the world. We wanted to create a new name which was innovative and different. A name which implies exclusivity and arouses emotions. Evoque is cosmopolitan and cross-continental, sophisticated and matches the car’s urban elegance,” he added.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s Design Director said: “The Range Rover is an iconic design that has stood the test of time and it’s not difficult to see why. Like the current version, the original Range Rover is such a simple and memorable shape that is easily recognisable.

The all-new Range Rover Evoque will resonate with customers on an emotional level. Its unique silhouette accentuated by the distinctive falling roof and dramatic rising waistline creates a modern and relevant execution of the familiar Range Rover design language. This car makes a powerful statement of the Range Rover’s brand intent to appeal to a wider audience.” Gerry McGovern, Design Director, Land Rover

“The Range Rover Evoque marks a bold evolution of Range Rover design, providing customers with a desirable, premium and compact car like SUV. In 2008 we introduced the LRX concept car: after a positive reception worldwide, the natural step for the business was to turn the LRX Concept car into reality. Tonight we wanted to show the world that we have stayed true to our word and delivered a car that completely represents the spirit of the LRX Concept.

“The Evoque will resonate with customers on an emotional level. Its unique silhouette accentuated by the distinctive falling roof and dramatic rising waistline creates a modern and relevant execution of the familiar Range Rover design language. This car makes a powerful statement of the Range Rover’s brand intent to appeal to a wider audience,” he added.

The Range Rover Evoque will make its global public debut at the Paris Motor Show at the end of September and will go on sale from next summer. However, in the meantime, AROnline readers can feast their eyes on a video of the new car here:

[Source: Land Rover]

[Editor’s Note: AROnline readers can also access a video of the Evoque’s preview at Kensington Palace by clicking on the fourth image from the left which appears once the clip above has been played.]

Clive Goldthorp

42 Comments

  1. Splendid! So “right” in its proportions, surfacing and stance – Rover design without the inconvenient bulk of the other models. So good, in fact, it makes one wonder whether the rather dull Freelander was designed in Gaydon or Detroit…

    Is it expensive and silly? Not half as expensive and silly as a full-scale Range Rover!

    Great launch too, all a bit uncool and embarrassing – you can’t get more British than that!

  2. All form over function: absurdly large wheels, lamentable visibility and a rear window that might as well not be there. Likely to appeal to the kind of people who would like a BMW X6 but can’t afford one… I rest my case 🙂

  3. Exciting or, in plain Dutch, GAAF!!! I hope that Jaguar gets the same boost and, hopefully, MG and Rover also… 🙂

  4. Keeps up the Range Rover and Discovery tradition by not offering four doors at first – it seems they’re on the way.

    And – strange ways of the industry here – this is effectively the replacement for the Jaguar X-TYPE…

  5. I think the Evoque looks more like a made-over Japanese 4×4. Range Rover have followed the current trend of copy design by making the styling line raise up from below the top of the front wheel arch – so predictable. However, this new model provides evidence for previous comments on here suggesting that Range Rover and Land Rover are evolving into seperate marques.

    My big concern is their latest staff member – Posh Spice is becoming a Creative Design Executive. I think, as I have said before, that this car is aimed at the people who think they are uber-trendy – their other car will be a MINI or a Fiat 500.

  6. @Clive Goldthorp
    Funny that, as when Jaguar mentioned that they were going to build cars in China, a lot of people dismissed others like myself who said that one of them would be the new X-TYPE replacement (XE or XD??).

  7. Snapdragon :
    All form over function: absurdly large wheels, lamentable visibility and a rear window that might as well not be there. Likely to appeal to the kind of people who would like a BMW X6 but can’t afford one… I rest my case.

    That’s precisely the sort of thinking which caused Rover to go bust in the first place.

  8. Snapdragon :
    All form over function: absurdly large wheels, lamentable visibility and a rear window that might as well not be there. Likely to appeal to the kind of people who would like a BMW X6 but can’t afford one… I rest my case.

    I totally agree with you but, unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there who fall for this kind of thing. The successful companies are those which design what the market wants (or which tell the market what it wants) and don’t allow themselves to be put off by being told that what they’ve produced is style over substance.

  9. Oh dear me. 2WD? On a Range Rover? That says it all.

    Poor Spen King would have been heartbroken – he was a real Car Designer and Engineer.

  10. I love it. I have no need for it but I think it’s a great step in building up production levels.

    What I don’t understand is the emerging difference between ‘Land Rover’ and ‘Range Rover’ as brands. Why isn’t Discovery a Range Rover too if this Evoque is? Where does this leave Freelander? They’re all lovely so what makes one a Range Rover and others not a Range Rover? It’s good that this new car has a unique name unlike the boringly named ‘Sport’.

  11. Plenty of negative comments on these pages, of course. JLR must be delighted – the car is bound to be a roaring success!

  12. Paul – you’re absolutely right.

    I cannot see the practicalities of driving round in something that looks like so absurdly impractical with such awful visibility. It looks like one of those dreadfully chavvy ‘Wicked Art’ caricatures made real. I therefore expect it will be a raging success. I certainly hope so…

    Ayd – that’s a bit of a daft question these days, when branding is everything. Have you not spotted that the Range Rover Sport is simply a Discovery Coupe? Might as well ask why there is a Honda CR-V, then an Acura RDX (good question, Ayd!) then a Honda Pilot and then an Acura MDX and finally a totally daft Acura ZDX or, come to that, 1,001 VAG cars spun off the Golf architecture.

  13. OK I suppose, but I prefer traditional saloons or hatchbacks. I would prefer a nice Jaguar X-TYPE replacement to be built at Halewood. I admit, though, that this Range Rover Evoque does look futuristic!

  14. @MikeP
    Can’t agree I’m afraid. It’s a fantastic tribute to the original Range Rover design that, 40 years on, there are three models in the range which are all state of the art, all highly desirable and all recognisably descended from the 1970 progenitor.

  15. Sorry, but reports of what the next generation Discovery will be called are purely speculative at this stage. Land Rover would be fools to ignore the huge success of the Discovery model and its sales over the last 20 years, which have helped bankroll the development costs of models like the original Freelander.

    I love Range Rovers but the Discovery, in any of its three generations to date, has a more functional purpose and honesty about it, without too much in the way of pomp. Not everyone wants to own something with the white collar image of a Range Rover. Here’s hoping that there will be a next-generation Land Rover Discovery!

  16. @David 3500
    I think you’ve got it right. I reckon that, from now on, we’ll see the ‘Land Rover’ branded utility vehicles (Freelander, Discovery and Defender) moved further away from the luxury ‘Range Rover’ ones of Evoque, Range Rover and Sport.

    I guess that, in effect, the Evoque will be to Range Rover what the Rover 213/216 was to Rover!

    This utility/luxury separation gives LR its very own Austin and Rover brands under one roof! Hurray!

  17. A fantastic bit of styling. The best-looking British car since the SD1?

    I had feared a repeat of the Range Rover Sport: lovely concept, bowdlerised for production.

    Peter Stevens said he wanted to build a Rover that was as dramatic, as desirable and as usable as the SD1 and his ideas lead him towards creating the TCV. The Evoque is the TCV concept made lovely and expensive.

    Got my qualms, though: a 2WD Landie (sorry, Rangie) from a company that has forged its reputation on its vehicles’ go-anywhere prowess?

    The price is VERY salty as well – did I read £35K in one of the red-tops today? Sensible people will buy the Freelander – available with five doors and four wheel drive from £21,750.

    Happily, for JLR, there are few sensible people in the world and this car is so stylish it will get away with the naughty asking price – it’s probably why they’re calling it a Range Rover. Cynical, perhaps, asking more for less, but it never stopped BMW.

    Here’s hoping that it’ll be an obscene money-maker for the company.

  18. I agree with all of that, JH. I also think this is a better way of reducing emission averages than Aston Martin’s dalliance with a madeover Toyota iQ. Aston’s execs have recently said that they would like the starting price of the Cygnet to be as much as £30k – that would, of course, be nuts! A £35k Evoque maybe high but it will be way better value and a much better nut-cracker for emission targets than the plan of Land Rover’s neighbours at Gaydon.

  19. I thought it was interesting when Land Rover’s MD explained that Spen King saw the Range Rover as an off-road vehicle with the comfort of a Rover saloon. Here’s hoping this baby Rangy will lead to the reinvention of Rover road cars. Don’t bother with an X-TYPE replacement, give us a decent well-sorted Rover to cover the lower end of the premium market.

  20. Ayd and JON have basically called it right.

    Years ago, when the “Rover” brand was publically synonymous with “Loser” and the Germans couldn’t decide about Austin or Triumph or whatever, I sort of had this idea of re-introducing a “Road Rover” or something instead of the cars – a bit like the Espace being the only Renault which was not a joke.

    I guess the timing etc’s now right for Land Rover and Range Rover (and, I suppose, the MINI Angryman) to do exactly what I had in mind.

  21. I guess it will appeal to the target demographic but, for me, it’s now irrevocably tainted by association with Thicktoria Beckham. Bringing her on board is either complete genius or a stunning mis-step – I can’t decide which.

  22. The renaissance of great British cars continues, albeit without British ownership. English city types don’t get it, but the Chinese, Germans and Indians and do. British engineers are doing a lot of it, too.

    Have the great names of British motoring EVER been so consistent at the same time? Not maybe since the Sixties. Aston, Jaguar, Land Rover, MG, MINI, Rolls… 1,000 new manufacturing jobs created in the UK in 2010? This is absolutely wonderful news…

  23. David 3500 :Sorry, but reports of what the next generation Discovery will be called are purely speculative at this stage. Land Rover would be fools to ignore the huge success of the Discovery model and its sales over the last 20 years, which have helped bankroll the development costs of models like the original Freelander.

    I love Range Rovers but the Discovery, in any of its three generations to date, has a more functional purpose and honesty about it, without too much in the way of pomp. Not everyone wants to own something with the white collar image of a Range Rover. Here’s hoping that there will be a next-generation Land Rover Discovery!

    Trouble is the Disco 3 and 4 are called the LR3 and LR4 in the US…

  24. Auntie Ian : Splendid! So “right” in its proportions, surfacing and stance – Rover design without the inconvenient bulk of the other models. So good, in fact, it makes one wonder whether the rather dull Freelander was designed in Gaydon or Detroit…

    Is it expensive and silly? Not half as expensive and silly as a full-scale Range Rover!

    Great launch too, all a bit uncool and embarrassing – you can’t get more British than that!

    Wasn’t there a Ford and a Mazda which looked almost identical to the Mk3 Freelander? They all had that bland ‘Transit Connect’ look to them.

  25. Now that this Evoque has been launched, is it curtains for the Freelander? Or will the Evoque be an upmarket sports cruiser SUV like the Cayenne or the X5 that will never have the offroad capacity of, say, a full-size LR4 or a proper RR?

  26. One thing I miss on this and the Sport are the raised ‘castilions’ on either side of the bonnet rather than the raised central area – only the main Range Rover has this most Range Rovery feature.

  27. There seems to be a trend to produce the most unproportioned monstrosity designers can think of. The Evoque looks as though it’s lost about a metre in height.

    Bring back the old drawing board and designers with a flair for their work – too much CAD and not enough creativity.

  28. No doubt this will go down a storm in the rough and wild terrain of West London. An Audi TT for people who like to sit up high but please don’t get it muddy – ideal for climbing the kerb very stylishly outside Harvey Nicks…

    However, I can’t help thinking that hiring Mrs Beckham as a specialist, like, interior and stuff, you know, Design Consultant (or whateva) in the week Spen King died is a bit crass, frankly.

    The product is strong enough without such an association anyway – I would have thought Range Rover would be a bit wary of a formal footballing link anyway

  29. Does the world really need another crossover 4wd/coupe/lifestyle/ soft roader/Chelsea tractor/gawdknowswhat fashion statement on wheels? LR obviously thinks so, and it will no doubt be very successful. It’s pretty hideous though – looks like it’s been trodden on – and I agree with the comment above that poor Spen King would have been heartbroken.

  30. The Evoque will sell but I can’t help comparing it to the £10k cheaper Mazda CX-7. I hope Land Rover is making what its customers want and not doing a Rover in making/duplicating sporty models the marketing and engineering staff like playing with…

  31. This is NOT a replacement for the X-TYPE – it is a totally different car for a totally different market.

    The new X-TYPE will be with us shortly…

  32. I know this site is, by and large, one for the traditionalist – but shouldn’t we be pleased that a groundbreaking car is emerging from the British motor industry?

    Sure, there is more than a hint of styling for styling’s sake. Just the sort of thing that the Montego, Maestro, Maxi and a host of others failed to display…

    Maybe someone somewhere has learned something. Very often it IS style NOT substance that sells cars. How else can you explain the success of the Fiat 500 despite the existence of the cheaper and more practical Panda?

  33. Well, what can I say? What’s groundbreaking about the Evoque? Who is it for? Footballers’ wives and Sloane rangers. Why else would Victoria Beckham be involved? Obviously style over intelligence, much like VB herself – she didn’t have anything useful to say did she?

    What is the point of it being raised so high off the ground? I have no idea, other than for the aforementioned WAGs and Knightsbridgers to look down on the little people.
    Interior space for passengers? Very little it appears and riding in the back will be awful with those tiny side windows.

    Ranger Rover could have just as effectively made it lower and with sensible sized wheels if they were looking at moving into the “car” market, but then, I suppose, they’d have just slapped Range Rover badges on a VW Scirocco.

    The Evoque, at least to my eyes, is a totally pointless vehicle and so far removed from the original concept that produced the Range Rover that I can’t see how it can dare to carry the name.

    Oh, and that front is PIG ugly.

  34. Launched by Victoria Beckham – that sums up the people who will be buying it. Still all that four wheel drive will be handy in the car parks at school and Waitrose…

  35. Well, I have put a deposit down to secure my build slot for a new 5 door baby Range Rover – I have a Jaguar XK Convertible at the moment and, whilst it is a fabulous car, I am in need of a practical car as well as the sports car. The concept and design are excellent.

  36. Claire :Well, I have put a deposit down to secure my build slot for a new 5 door baby Range Rover – I have a Jaguar XK Convertible at the moment and, whilst it is a fabulous car, I am in need of a practical car as well as the sports car. The concept and design are excellent.

    I genuinely hope you will find that the ‘baby’ Range Rover lives up to your expectations. I haven’t seen the 5-door version in the metal yet, but know it will be good news for the ongoing success of Land Rover.

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