Thread: Another new Range Rover model announced !!

Land Rover World – June 2005, p5 ‘News’

May 11, 2005. Land Rover has today announced a new addition to the ever expanding line-up of Range Rover models. This follows the introduction of the widely acclaimed Range Rover Sport and the Discovery 3. Designed specifically to cater for the demands of the growing US market the new model is, tentatively at least, named the Range Rover LoRider.

Led by Land Rover design director Geoff Upex, the design team behind the third generation Range Rover has created a vehicle that blends key styling cues with eye-catching modern 'jewellery'.

Many of the traditional Range Rover elements have remained with the vehicle since the original was launched more than 30 years ago and today form an integral part of the Range Rover's design DNA. In essence, a Range Rover would not be a Range Rover if it did not have the practical horizontally split tailgate, the bold upright front with its simple grille, the command driving position, the 'floating' roof, the clamshell bonnet with its castellations and the almost rectangular interplay between the horizontal and vertical body lines.

The new Range Rover LoRider embodies all those iconic features, yet moves the design firmly into the 21st Century, picking up cues from the ‘Hip-Hop’ street culture of suburban Los Angeles. “Range Rovers are a very popular vehicle with the so-called gangsta music fraternity,” says Upex, “and Land Rover has decided to capitalise on the demands of this market.”

The ‘LoRider’ blends classic Range Rover aesthetics with the low-rider street car style resulting in an iconic vehicle with real street presence. “This is a departure from Land Rover tradition,” says Upex’ “although we firmly believe it will broaden Land Rovers’ appeal” [to the US market]. There are no plans currently to sell the vehicle domestically or into other foreign markets.

In deference to US market research, the new Range Rover LoRider model is longer than its predecessor – some 5120 mm (201.7 in) from bumper to bumper and sits on a wheelbase of 3050 mm (120.2 in). Ground clearance is a modest 193 mm (7.58 in) when the Range Rover LoRider is on its highest suspension setting. The width of the body itself remains the same at 1956 mm (77.0 in) as is overall width – including door mirrors – at 2191 mm (86.3 in).

If the exterior of the new Range Rover model can be seen as an evolution of the traditional shape, the sumptuous interior represents a real revolution. The interior is radically different from any previous Range Rover model and Land Rover have, fortunately for this model only, discarded the traditional trend of understated elegance. Of the many trim options available, none could be described as traditional nr understated. Nor could they be called adventurous. Land Rover calls them “revolutionary” and “streetwise”, but this scribe must – risking accusations of being elderly and uncool – use the words “ugly” and “bling”. There, it’s been said. The predominant materials are leather (as one might expect), chrome (as one might tolerate) and neon (as one would most definitely not expect). Upex assures us that virtually any custom interior can be specified to customer order, at additional expense, of course. This is presumably in the event that the customer has worse taste than whomever it was came up with the ‘standard’ trim options!

There is no word, yet, on when the new model is likely to see production, but with the upcoming Freelander (and Defender?) replacements, Land Rover expect that it won’t be until at least 2008 that the mean streets of L.A. are crawling with LoRiders (given the wheelbase and ride height, that’s also about the only place they’ll be seen, one suspects.). Perhaps Land Rover will be able to “sell snow to the Eskimos” after all. Irony indeed.

Thats pretty coincidental vlad, the new range rover is disguised so well it looks like your range rover. Matt