As the release date of the fifth generation Range Rover approaching — arrival scheduled for 2022 — it's no big surprise that the British brand's SUV has been appearing in more and more spy photos.
It will be based on the new MLA platform, which should have been debuted by the new Jaguar XJ (and which was canceled by the brand's new executive director, Thierry Bolloré), and will allow the creation of models with combustion engine, hybrids and 100% electric.
However, the new Range Rover still comes wrapped in more camouflage than we expected to see at this point. Even so, it was possible to understand some more details and verify that it was the plug-in hybrid version, something that was denounced by the charging port and by the sticker saying… “Hybrid” on the front window.
Inspired by Velar
In terms of aesthetics and despite the vast camouflage, we can see that the new Range Rover will bet on a style that combines some details of the current generation (the first Range Rover that will abdicate an “evolutionist” style) and Velar is yet to be born.
This inspiration from his “younger brother” is evident not only in the built-in door handles, but also in the front grille, which does not hide some similarities with the Range Rover Velar. The headlights, of which we could see little more than the outline, should be closer to the current generation.
The built-in knobs were "inherited" from Velar.
what we already know
As with the current generation, the new Range Rover will have two bodies: “normal” and long (with longer wheelbase). As far as powertrains are concerned, mild-hybrid technology is set to become the norm and plug-in hybrid versions are guaranteed to be part of the range.
While the continuity of the currently used inline six-cylinder is practically assured, the same cannot be said about the 5.0 V8. Rumors persist that Jaguar Land Rover will be able to do without its veteran block and resort to a BMW-origin V8 — it wouldn't be the first time. It had already happened in the second generation of the model when Land Rover was in the hands of the German brand.
The engine in question consists of the N63, the twin-turbo V8 with 4.4 l from BMW, an engine we know from the M50i versions of the SUV X5, X6 and X7, or even from the M550i and M850i, delivering, in these cases, 530 hp.