GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Range Rover adds Velar

Land Rover has come clean on its plan to fill the "white space" between the entry-level Evoque and the Rangie Sport, as its design boss Gerry McGovern revealed to us way back in April 2015.

Pictured here in three official images for the first time is the Velar, a name that dates back to the first Range Rover prototypes of 1969 and is derived from the Latin velare meaning to veil or cover.

“We call the Velar the avant garde Range Rover.  It brings a new dimension of glamour, modernity and elegance to the brand. The Range Rover Velar changes everything," said Land Rover Chief Design Officer, Gerry McGovern.

Full details will be announced on March 1, ahead of its world debut at the Geneva motor show a week later, but the fourth Range Rover model is expected to be based on the same IQ platform as sister brand Jaguar's first SUV, the F-PACE.

"Refined for every occasion, for every terrain, Velar uses unique sustainable materials and advanced engineering to continue Land Rover’s drive to go Above and Beyond," said Land Rover in a press release.

UK publication Autocar reported earlier this month that the Velar, which we spied in testing last June, will be the “most radical-looking” Range Rover in the British car-maker’s history.

When it goes on sale globally later this year, expect the Velar — which will be priced and sized between the Evoque and Rangie Sport — to be positioned alongside other sleek mid-size SUVs, including the Porsche Macan, BMW X4, Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe and perhaps even the F-PACE.

Justifying its expected $80,000 price tag, however, the Velar will come with an all-aluminium construction which should make it lighter and more efficient than its German rivals.

All models will come with all-wheel drive and, initially, share the same four- and six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines with the Jaguar SUV. Later on, says Autocar, the V6s will be replaced by JLR’s new Ingenium straight-six engines.

Further afield, it's possible JLR will also introduce high-performance SVR and economy-minded plug-in hybrid and even all-electric versions of the Velar.