The Next Range Rover Will Be a Grand Tourer
You can’t say that Jaguar Land Rover is afraid of taking chances.
The British automaker just unveiled a prototype of the upcoming fifth member of the Range Rover model line, the GT. The fully electric vehicle is unlike anything to ever wear the Land Rover or Range Rover name and, at a glance, appears to have more in common with a sedan than an SUV.
As the name may have given away, the newest member of the Range Rover “family” is a grand tourer. Although covered in camouflage, the first images make clear that it has a lower stance and more stretched-out proportions that we’re used to from the brand, putting it more in line with a commanding wagon than a coupe-style SUV. The EV, which will feature a 2+2 seating layout, also looks like it will be bigger than the compact Evoque and the midsize Velar.
The Land Rover Range Rover GT prototype
Jaguar Land Rover
Details, unsurprisingly, are scarce. One thing we do know for certain is that the GT will be the first all-electric Range Rover built on JLR’s new EMA platform. The model, which is set to be built in the company’s Halewood facility in Merseyside, England. It will initially be available exclusively as an EV, but there is the flexibility to release a version with a hybrid powertrain in the future.
“We have spent the last few years working obsessively on the fundamentals of the GT formula, reinterpreted in a sophisticated, uniquely Range Rover way,” Martin Limpert, Range Rover’s managing director, said in a statement. “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.”
Inside the Range Rover GT
Jaguar Land Rover
We’re used to seeing EVs from legacy automakers teased years before their expected launch, but the wait for the GT shouldn’t be that long. The prototype is currently in the final phase of on-road testing and JLR has already promised more details before the year is over. There’s even the expectation that the finished version will be unveiled early next year.
Of course, as we’ve seen in recent years, a legacy automaker’s plans for an EV are always subject to change. Early this year, Lamborghini announced it was pulling the plug on the all-electric Lanzador more than two years after the high-riding GT had first been unveiled to the public. The model will now be released as a hybrid. Ferrari, meanwhile, pushed forward with its debut battery-powered vehicle, the Luce, and is still dealing with the fallout related to that decision.
Click here to see more photos of the Land Rover Range Rover GT.
