Land surprised us by showcasing the upcoming Range Rover Electric without any camouflage. The official photos and video were shot during cold weather testing in the Arctic Circle, suggesting that the EV will look virtually identical to the ICE-powered versions. The Range Rover Electric will be JLR’s second fully electric production model after the Jaguar I-Pace. The goal is for the EV to match the performance and signature off-road credentials of the combustion Range Rovers, which is why the new powertrain has been tested on different types of terrains and extreme weather conditions. Pre-production prototypes of the electric SUV have been exposed to temperatures ranging from –40°C in the frozen lakes of the Arctic Circle to +50°C in deserts of the Middle East, ensuring the durability and stable performance of the all-electric underpinnings.
The teaser highlights a new traction
control system which with each individual electric drive control unit managing
the wheel slip. Thanks to JLR’s “innovative software”, the new system is much
faster than the traditional ABS-based setups, reducing the torque reaction time
at each wheel from around 100 milliseconds to 1 millisecond. Land Rover says
that in combination with the the stability control and chassis systems, the new
setup will maximize traction on all surfaces and “significantly” enhance the
Range Rover drive experience.
The company has not given away any
information about the power output of the electric powertrain or the capacity
of the battery. However, it has been officially confirmed that the Range Rover
Electric will use an 800 Volt architecture, and will offer V8-levels of
performance. Land Rover has also promised that the Range Rover Electric will
surpass any other luxury electric SUV in terms of towing, wading, and
all-terrain capabilities.
The new model will ride on the Modular
Longitudinal Architecture, with the battery and electric drive unit to be
assembled in-house. Production of the Range Rover Electric will take place in
the UK next to the mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions.
While we don’t have a set date for the
debut, Land Rover opened a waiting list for the EV on December 2023, receiving
over 16,000 expressions of interest by February 2024.