LONDON, Wednesday 11 October 2017 – Last night the legendary Range Rover took its next evolutionary step with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) electric model, fittingly revealed at the Design Museum in London.

All images: www.influenceassociates.com

The evening included a panel discussion chaired by Jon Briggs, the voice of Siri on UK Apple phones. He was joined by Grace Gould, founder of the School of the Digital Age, Dylan Jones, editor of GQ and Industrial Designer, Marc Newson. They discussed sustainable luxury, the value of ‘Britishness’ in a global marketplace and the changing nature of status.

Music was provided by pianist and composer Okiem, who has played with Prince, Tinie Tempah and John Legend. Okiem’s signature sound combines piano, synthesizers and orchestral instruments and has been described as ‘cinematic classical’.

The new Range Rover PHEV now combines a powerful electric motor with a high-performance Ingenium petrol engine to offer sustainable luxury with new levels of efficiency and capability, complementing its legendary refinement and desirability. For the first time, customers choosing Land Rover’s flagship SUV can experience zero-emission driving.

“Our customers are very clear about what they want from any new Range Rover. ‘Don’t change it, just make it better,’ they tell us, so everything we’ve done has been about enhancing our flagship SUV. After nearly 50 years the fourth generation Range Rover is the finest so far, ensuring the original luxury SUV remains the choice for discerning customers the world over.”

Gerry McGovern, Chief Design Officer, Land Rover

The efficient new Range Rover P400e plug-in hybrid electric vehicle combines a 300PS (221kW) 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine with a 116PS (85kW) electric motor. The 404PS (297kW) total available power output is capable of 0-60mph in 6.4 seconds (0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds) and a maximum speed of 137mph (220km/h).  Thanks to its electrified powertrain, the Range Rover P400e has a range of up to 31 miles (51km) in electric vehicle (EV) mode. The lithium-ion battery can be fully charged in as little as 2 hours 45 minutes.

“The new Range Rover takes our luxury SUV to new heights, delivering enhanced refinement, luxury and all-terrain capability. The new PHEV powertrain isn’t simply a no-compromise solution – it builds on the traditions of our flagship SUV and delivers heightened refinement and comfort with impressive performance and efficiency.”

Nick Collins, Vehicle Line Director, Jaguar Land Rover

Comfort-enhancing functions transform the travelling experience for the driver and passengers. The front seats feature 24-way movement, while in the rear a completely redesigned cabin, and wider, softer seats, reclining by up to 40 degrees and offering 25 massage programmes thanks to hot stone massage technology create a tranquil and luxurious sanctuary.

If you’re working while being driven, up to 17 connection points including domestic plug sockets, USB, HDMI and 12-volt are all available; 4G Wi-Fi hotspots for up to eight devices and convenient storage are all designed for the business traveller.

Following the introduction of the new Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) last week, Jaguar Land Rover’s ICE to ACE journey continues, moving from conventional internal combustion engines to autonomous, connected and electrified vehicles.

Designed and engineered by Jaguar Land Rover in the UK, the new Range Rover will be produced at the company’s Solihull production facility and is available to order now, with first deliveries from the end of 2017 (market dependent).

For further information log onto:

https://www.globalmediacentre.com/news/new-range-rover-silent-luxury 

Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true ‘breadth of capability’ across the model range. Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque each defines the world’s SUV sectors, with 80 per cent of this model range exported to over 100 countries.

The new Range Rover’s latest technologies:

• Gesture sunblind: opened and closed by an advanced gesture control system that senses an occupant’s hand movement. All it takes to open the blind is a rearward swipe in front of the rear view mirror, and forwards to close

• Air Cabin Ionisation: uses nano-sized charged water particles to cleanse and purify the air for enhanced passenger wellbeing

• Pixel-laser LED headlights: advanced technology is brighter and yet intelligently blanks sections of LEDs to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers

• Activity key: customers can securely lock and unlock their vehicle without the need to carry a conventional key fob

Two driving modes:

1. Parallel Hybrid mode (the default driving mode) – combines petrol and electric drive. The driver can optimise battery charge or fuel economy by utilising one of two charge management functions:
   • SAVE function – prevents the battery charge dropping below a pre-selected level
   • Predictive Energy Optimisation (PEO) function – entering a destination in the navigation system enables the feature, which utilises in built GPS altitude data for the selected route, to intelligently combine the electric motor and petrol engine to maximise fuel economy
2. EV (Electric Vehicle) mode – enables the vehicle to run solely on the electric motor using the energy stored in the battery, the ideal solution for quiet, zero-emission journeys

Range Rover Timeline:

1970  Original two-door Range Rover (the Classic) goes on sale

1972  Range Rover crosses Darien Gap on the 18,000-mile British Army Trans-America expedition. It took 99 days to cover 250 miles of dense jungle

1977  Range Rover wins 4×4 class in the 30,000km (18,750-mile) London-Sydney Marathon – the longest ever speed-based car rally

1979  A Range Rover wins the inaugural Paris-Dakar rally (and again in 1981)

1981  First production four-door Range Rover appears along with the first factory limited edition – the ‘In Vogue’

1982  Automatic transmission introduced on Range Rover

1985  Diesel-powered ‘Bullet’ Range Rover breaks 27 speed records

1987  Range Rover launched in North America

1989  Range Rover is world’s first 4×4 to be fitted with anti-lock brakes

1992  Range Rover is world’s first 4×4 to be fitted with electronic traction control and automatic electronic air suspension

1994  Second-generation Range Rover introduced

2001  Third-generation Range Rover introduced

2002  500,000th Range Rover produced at the Solihull plant

2012  Fourth-generation Range Rover introduced – the first all-aluminium SUV

2015  Exclusive Range Rover SVAutobiography launched in New York

2016 Land Rover announces its most powerful Range Rover, the 550PS SVAutobiography Dynamic

2017 Range Rover P400e PHEV debuts

 

John Paul Mooney

Land Rover Global Product PR Manager

M: +44 (0)7764 377 358

Email: jmoone10@jaguarlandrover.com