Land Rover has begun the real-world
development of the next generation Range Rover Sport and our spies were there
to catch them in the act. The fresh spy shots show a fully camouflaged
prototype of the 2022 Range Rover Sport undergoing some cold-weather testing on
a frozen lake, with the company’s testers having a bit of fun along the
process.
The third generation Range Rover Sport is
expected to be based on JLR’s MLA platform, which is also going to be used in
the upcoming electric Jaguar XJ. The architecture is designed to host
everything from pure combustion to battery electric models and is expected to
make heavy use of aluminum to keep weight in check.
The design of the 2022 Range Rover Sport
will not be radically different from today’s popular model, opting instead to
share a number of styling cues from the smaller Velar, including the front end
fascia and the seamless look of the bodywork. The powertrain range will include
mild and plug-in hybrid options that combine four- and six-cylinder engines to
electric motors. Jaguar Land Rover is said to have signed a deal with BMW to
provide V8 engines for the next full-size Range Rover but we still haven’t
heard anything specific yet for the slightly smaller Sport model.
JLR and BMW are rumored to be forging a
powertrain alliance, not only on V8 engines but on future electrified
powertrains in general in a bid to reduce the huge development costs. Land
Rover is expected to reveal the full-size Range Rover flagship SUV next year, followed
a few months later by the 2022 Range Rover Sport. Stay tuned for more
information.
