2024 Range Rover Electric teased as pre-orders open

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Australia has started taking pre-orders for the upcoming 2024 Range Rover Electric as the first pre-production prototypes hit the road for real-world testing.

Underpinned by the Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA platform), the Range Rover Electric is said to be the “quietest and most refined Range Rover ever created” and it will offer similar performance and off-road capability to the established V8 variants.

A key component of the real-world development will be extreme weather testing in Sweden and Dubai, where the big luxury off-roader will be subject to temperatures approaching -40 degrees at one end of the scale and up to 50 degrees at the other.

Engineers say they’re eager to ensure the “robustness of the electric drive system, including its underfloor, battery durability, chassis integrity and vehicle dynamics” can survive in even the most extreme climates and conditions.

An 850mm wading depth and advanced underbody protection will play a key role here, though most electric Rangies will probably spend their lives in the city, which is where refinement becomes more tangible.

Enhancing the inevitably opulent ambience will be a unique active road noise cancellation system that should make for a near-silent driving experience, while charging times will be kept to a minimum thanks to an 800-volt electrical architecture – so expect ultra-fast-charging at around 350kW.

But what will all this tech and luxury look like?

JLR has released a series of close-up teaser images previewing the tail-lights, charging port, streamlined grille, subtle ‘EV’ badging and unique exterior trim bits of the first electric Range Rover.

Put all this together and the Range Rover Electric will almost certainly be the sleekest and most elegant full-size Rangie to date, and one that’ll be easy to tell apart from its internal combustion siblings.

There hasn’t been any indication on pricing or positioning just yet, but odds are the EV will sit right at the top of the full-size Range Rover line-up and command a fittingly high price tag to match.

“We are on target to create the quietest and most refined Range Rover ever created,” said JLR product engineering executive director Thomas Müller.

“The magic ingredients that underpin the success of Range Rover remain unchanged: timeless, reductionist design, a serene cabin and go-anywhere capability – but now offered with zero tailpipe emissions.

“And as repeated throughout history, the Range Rover will continue to set the standard. The first of its type. An electric luxury SUV that can deliver on the Range Rover promise.

“A true global luxury product, as yet unseen in the industry.”

The most obvious rival for the Range Rover Electric will be the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQG, but from what we’ve seen so far the quad-motor German off-roader will put greater emphasis on mud-slinging capability than all-out luxury like the Rangie.

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