The Range Rover offers a compelling mix of luxury and ruggedness, and an all-new model is under development. According to Car Magazine, the redesigned model will arrive in 2022 and ride on the company’s new MLA platform. The latter has been designed to accommodate internal combustion engines, mild and plug-in hybrids as well as fully electric powertrains.
Unsurprisingly, the publication says we can expect a “smorgasbord” of powertrain choices. They didn’t go into specifics, but suggested the entire engine lineup will be electrified and include diesels, a straight-six and a V8. We can also expect at least one plug-in hybrid variant and an electric model that could use a 90 kWh battery pack and electric motors that are being developed with BMW.
While the publication didn’t go into too many details, a previous presentation by Jaguar Land Rover said future plug-in hybrids would use a 13.1 kWh battery pack that will enable them to have an all-electric range of up to 50 km. The same presentation revealed electric models will have a 90.2 kWh battery and a range of up to 470 km.
On the styling, we shouldn’t expect anything too radical, as Land Rover Creative Director Massimo Frascella said that “designing a new Range Rover comes with a certain pressure – it is clear how important Range Rover is to defining our brand.” Despite this, he noted it’s less stressful than designing the Defender “because you have more of a visual evolution; a path that’s more defined.”
This suggests the 2022 Range Rover will have an evolutionary design and Frascella hinted it could take a few cues from the Velar, which won World Car Design of the Year in 2018. If this is true, the next-generation Range Rover could adopt sleeker styling, power retractable door handles and slender taillights which are mounted horizontally instead of vertically.
