Land Rover is gearing up to introduce the all-new
Defender, but one of the firm’s most iconic models is about to celebrate its
seventh anniversary. We’re of course talking about the fourth-generation Range Rover which
debuted in 2012. While the model received a facelift for 2018, the luxury SUV
hasn’t changed too much. However, the segment has and the Range Rover is facing
an assortment of new competitors including everything from the BMW X7 to the
Bentley Bentayga.
According to Autocar, the fifth-generation Range
Rover is slated to debut in 2021 and ride on the company’s new Modular
Longitudinal Architecture. The latter is aluminum intensive and promises to be
significantly lighter than the current architecture. More importantly, the MLA
platform has been designed to accommodate plug-in hybrid and electric
powertrains.
Given this, it’s not too surprising to learn the
next-generation Range Rover will offer an assortment of eco-friendly
powertrains. Nothing is official, but there will reportedly be a mild hybrid
variant that uses a turbocharged and supercharged straight-six engine. It will
reportedly offer outputs ranging from approximately 300 hp to
400 hp.
The report also says there will be a plug-in hybrid
variant which uses a straight-six engine and an electric motor on each axle.
There’s no word on specifications, but the model could have an electric-only
range of approximately 64 km. An electric version is also
rumored, but little is known about it. However, the report suggests the model
will be targeted at city dwellers in Asia.
There’s no word on what the new Range Rover will
look like, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the model adopted an evolutionary
design that takes some cues from the newer Evoque and Velar. If this is the
case, we can expect sleeker styling and retractable door handles. There should
also be a more luxurious interior with updated technology.
