New look for Land Rover

Land Rover's model styling -- or perceived lack of -- is uppermost in the company's future planners' minds. By their own admission, LR's designers say its cars have at times even offended people.

The brand's trademark blocky, charmless lines and large grilles have done little to placate knockers of large SUVs.

But even with new more efficient engines and more four-wheel-drive tech, the hardcore offroaders aren't about to get soft anytime soon -- except luxury fit-wise. In fact, the only softening will be in the styling, whereby the models' generally straight-up-and-down lines will have less edge.

A year before Ford took over Land Rover, long-time auto stylist Gerry McGovern was headhunted by the Blue Oval to assist with the Lincoln brand. This was during the Jac Nasser days; probably Ford's most profitable era in recent history. McGovern is glad to be back in the LR fold, however.

"I'm a bit of a design nut," he told the Carsales Network at the launch of the MY10 Range Rover Vogue, Sport and Discovery in Scotland earlier this month. "And for me, Land Rover is the one [brand] that interests me most. Because of what it's come from and what it's been about... Design based on functionality.

"But with the world changing -- you can't just focus on functionality," he said. "It's a great brand to be in from a design standpoint."

When asked if the 50-something designer felt confined by Land Rover's style heritage and its customers' generally conservative tastes, McGovern told the Carsales Network: "There is an element of that, yes. But I think the LRX concept car demonstrates the level of stretch in the brand. It's completely new for us and the market, and yet it's absolutely pro-Brit for the brand. There's a lot of flexibility there.

"We come from a functional base. Our vehicles in the past have looked the way they do because of what they do… But that sort of overt functionality -- particularly in the premium market -- is probably not going to be acceptable in the future," he admits.

Land Rover's latest design strategy -- something the team has been working on for over two years -- incorporates four key elements: flexibility, desirability, sustainability and functionality.

"In order to get there [develop and realise a design strategy] we've looked at what our heritage was all about," said McGovern.

"If you look at the original vehicle in 1948 [Series 1] -- there weren't people like me around then… It's about pure functionality.

"And if you look at all the vehicles we developed since then, they are all unique. They all did different jobs but at the core of all of them was their capability," said McGovern.

So what's different now, design-wise?

"Now there's a cohesive design language," said McGovern.

"We've taken a fresh approach to functionality because up until now it's tended to be a bit utilitarian. We know in certain markets that overt functionality doesn't resonate. It might do with the diehard Land Roverite, but not with the premium customers that buy Range Rovers."

On sustainability, McGovern explained where good design could be used to help the brand's cause.

"On a pure design standpoint: we've looked at the sustainable materials we can use, for example. And the weight we can get out of the vehicles."

McGovern agreed aerodynamics will play a much bigger role at Land Rover than it has thus far.

"Land Rovers of the past are all quite rectilinear. Yes, they're bluff, they're very upright. They've got big front ends. So how are we going to develop aerodynamics and maintain again, the essence of the brand and what the design DNA is? That's the main challenge."

On desirability, McGovern also agreed the brand's large vehicles attracted negativity, particularly "in a world that demanded designers be more responsible; where conspicuous consumption may be frowned upon".

Consumer perception of its vehicles' size is an issue for Land Rover, McGovern admitted.

"The Land Rover is a large vehicle in London but say, in LA or Australia it's a medium-sized vehicle. We're looking at what can we do about the size of our vehicles and the visual messages they communicate.

"There's a big difference in a vehicle designed to look overtly aggressive and one that looks robust," he continued. "So we're going through a lot of intellectualising, for want of a better word, at the moment."

Land Rover adds the term (surely some marketeer's triumph) 'premiumness' to its rundown on brand desirability. We don't have the relevant dictionary but we get what the company means and here -- at top shelf -- is what Land Rover does best.

"The level [of fit and finish] has risen dramatically and not just on luxury vehicles. We are a premium brand so quality -- we call it perceived quality -- has received a good deal of focus.

"We want truly luxurious interiors that are also unique to the market," said McGovern.

The brand's dual-view screen (shared with stablemate, Jaguar) is an example, allowing driver and passengers to see two different 'feeds' via layer technique called Parallax. Designers have also aimed to reduce the complexity of switchgear required to operate onboard comfort controls.

The 10MY Land Rover range is a shift in the company’s design direction, according to McGovern, but "it will take a whole new generation to implement this [new] strategy".

Look to the sleek LRX concept for LR's latest design decisions, he suggests. The X3/Q5 segment contender will be badged a Range Rover and production is reportedly soon for schedule. It will be the smallest Range Rover model LR has ever built.

Land Rover also revealed MY10.5 additions at the Frankfurt motor show. The Range Rover Vogue, for one, will later offer a 'chauffeur's pack' including adjustable rear seating, with cooling and heating.

Visit the Carsales Network again for our upcoming drive reviews of the 10MY Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover models.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi.