Range Rover family to expand

The Evoque has become the best-selling Land Rover ever in its first year on sale, but the British SUV brand will dramatically expand its Range Rover line-up further upstream in 2013.

While the first ever Range Rover hybrid has been confirmed for Australian release following its expected reveal at the Detroit motor show in January, it could also be joined here by long-wheelbase and armoured versions of the new Rangie.

Both models are in the final stages of development and under consideration to join the fourth-generation Range Rover line-up in Australia, which will comprise three engine variants priced from $168,900 from February.

Based on the 2013 Rangie’s all-new bonded and riveted aluminium platform will be a new-generation Range Rover Sport, which is expected to appear at the New York motor show next April and will also be on sale here by the end of next year. Like the new Range Rover upon which it’s based, the 2014 Rangie Sport will be around 300kg lighter than its predecessor, engine for engine – meaning the entry-level V6 diesel should weigh about the same as the base Range Rover at 2160kg.

While the switch from a separate chassis to a monococque or unitary body design should bring significant improvements in on-road handling dynamics for the new Rangie Sport, also expected to feature all-alloy unibody construction for the first time is the fifth-generation Discovery due in 2014.

As we’ve reported, the next Discovery model range is also set to expand significantly, with the third-generation Freelander due to be reborn as a ‘junior’ Disco in five- and seven-seat forms by 2015.

The rapid model expansion is part of the most ambitious investment program undertaken by Jaguar Land Rover and, including a new-generation Defender line-up comprising up to six model derivatives, will result in 16 Land Rover models by 2020.

The new Rangie Sport, meantime, will again be clothed in a sportier looking body shell than the larger Range Rover flagship. Recent spy shots from southern Europe show it will feature a more athletic stance, thanks to more aggressive headlights, a beefier grille and bumpers, a lower roofline with a more pronounced rearward slope, a much shorter rear overhang and steeper rear tailgate glass.

Engineers at the global Range Rover launch last week told motoring.com.au it will also come with a sharper chassis tune, including firmer air suspension, a lower ride height and improved response from the new Rangie’s variable-ratio electro-hydraulic steering system.

The new Rangie Sport’s interior will again share its larger sibling’s switchgear, but should come with a more sporting version of its new dashboard with a sloping centre console and conventional gearshifter to replace the Rangie’s rotary selector. Expect it to come with the same engines though, including entry-level 3.0-litre V6 and grunty 4.4-litre V8 diesel engines, plus supercharged and (outside Australia) naturally aspirated versions of JLR’s 5.0-litre petrol V8.

While all models will offer more performance and efficiency than before, the same diesel-hybrid system that will become available here in the new Range Rover next year is also expected to be offered in the next Rangie Sport from launch, emitting as little as 169/km of CO2.

For the first time, however, a more sporting performance variant of the Rangie Sport will also be introduced, marking Land Rover’s first direct rival for super-SUVs like Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo, the Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG and BMW’s X5 and X6 M models. Although it is being tested at the Nurburgring, the the Rangie Sport ‘Plus’ chassis will still be oriented more towards ride comfort than outright handling dynamics compared to its German competitors.

However, expect it to match its most formidable foes in a straight line with a more potent version of the supercharged Range Rover’s 375kW/625Nm V8, which propels the bigger new Rangie to 100km/h in just 5.4 seconds – making it quicker than the current supercharged Rangie and Sport (6.2 seconds). While that’s still 0.7 seconds slower than the still-lighter X5, X6 and Cayenne Turbo, which can hit 100km/h in 4.7 seconds (the ML63 does it in a claimed 4.8), expect the all-new Rangie Sport flagship to be just as quick thanks to a retuned blown V8 that may output the same 404kW/680Nm as Jaguar’s XKR-S.

If, like the Mk4 Range Rover, prices for the new Sport increase by around 10 per cent, then the new Sport supercharged would be priced around $175,000, which should see the new range-topper break the $200,000 barrier, eclipsing the circa-$178K X5 M and ML63 but probably not the Cayenne Turbo ($247,500).

Superseded 12MY versions of the existing Rangie Sport TDV6 are now being offered for $99,990 drive-away, helping to slightly increase sales of the seven-year-old model so far this year.

At the other end of the Range Rover scale, 24-hour three-shift production of the Evoque at Halewood has reduced delivery times for specific models to three or four months in Australia, where Land Rover’s best-seller is the fourth most popular luxury SUV so far this year – behind the Audi Q5, BMW X5 and Mercedes M-Class.

Land Rover recently lowered the Evoque’s local admission price to $49,995 by introducing a 2WD eD4 Pure manual variant, but says take-up has been slow and the average transaction price remains around $65,000.

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