Land Rover Spackles the Gap Between the Range Rover Sport and Evoque With the Velar
Land Rover has confirmed Velar as the name of Range Rover’s new luxury crossover, positioned to rival Porsche’s Macan.
While Velar sounds hand-picked to hang in the air and mimic the vowel placement of the Macan, Land Rover has used it before. According to the company, the name is derived from the original Range Rover prototypes from 1969, dubbed Velar as a way to disguise or veil them. Although why any vehicle before the Defender would need a secret working title is rather baffling when the company called almost every product it made before 1983 either “Range Rover” or “Land Rover” — sometimes tacking on a generational identifier, like “Series III.”
Still, any tieback you can make to your heritage is a win when it comes to marketing. Velar also fits Range Rover’s premium image and borderline sensual naming strategy that started with the Evoque. These are names that would work just as well being whispered by a model in a perfume advertisement; they just so happen to also be the names of two British sport utility vehicles.
“We call the Velar the avant garde Range Rover. It brings a new dimension of glamour, modernity and elegance to the brand,” Land Rover’s Chief Design Officer, Gerry McGovern, said in a statement.
That probably means it won’t be as enjoyably good off-road as it is on the pavement and in parking lots.
The Velar will be the first of Land Rover’s ilk to use JLR’s iQ/D7A all-wheel/rear-wheel-drive platform that is currently being used on the Jaguar XE sedan and F-Pace SUV. Engine options will likely be dependent upon market, with the Ingenium 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel four and 3.0 liter supercharged gasoline-burning V6 a near guarantee no matter where you live.
A good way to see what else might be on offer for your home country is to check and see how you can equip the current Jaguar F-Pace.
It will be priced — and sized — somewhere between the $41,800 Evoque and $65,650 Range Rover Sport. The assumptions is that it’ll be offered with a panoramic sunroof and appear as the above teaser photo suggests, however, that ultra-clean buttonless interior looks to be straight out of a concept car. What we’re seeing may not be a finished product. Full details of the Range Rover Velar will be announced next month.
[Image: Jaguar Land Rover]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I cannot pronounce the baby Porsche station wagon's name without saying the whole thing.......... Mac an' cheese.
Always wanted a Range Rover that was around 186" in length! Maybe this is the one!