Range Rover considering Bentley Bentayga rival

Range Rover is considering a limited-run, full-size SUV to rival the Bentley Bentayga, according to new reports.

The new SUV, expected to be limited to just 1000 cars, will sit above the current Range Rover and will be priced from around $400,000, according to British car magazine, Autocar.

Speaking to journalists at a recent Range Rover event, director of JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO), Paul Newsome, said: "I can see something that would sit above the existing Range Rover model. It would have to have a unique style and different looks [to the Range Rover]”.

The new, more luxurious Range Rover could follow in the tyre tracks of the recent Jaguar F-TYPE Project 7, which was created by SVO based on the existing roadster but re-engineered to be a more exclusive offering.

Newsome: “You could imagine a car with aluminium [body] panels which would be hand-finished and hand-matched. Something that potential buyers could watch being made”.

The SVO boss said that if green lit for limited production such a vehicle would offer the highest levels of craftsmanship.

No timeframe has been given for when JLR might introduce the flagship vehicles.

As well as a potential Bentley Bentayga-rival, Newsome also told Autocar that SVO’s SVX brand will be used on future ultra-hardcore off-road Defenders.

Newsome also indicated to the British car mag that the next-gen Defender will be “much, much better” to drive, hinting that the all-replacement for the iconic off-roader will be far more upmarket and sophisticated than the tough, utilitarian outgoing model.