Range Rover - Repair and Consignment Sales Redwood City - Is an even plusher Range Rover halo model on the way? - Bosch European Redwood City - (650) 368-3000

Photo by Carat Duchatelet

At first glance, it may not seem like there is much room for growth above the long-wheelbase Range Rover, especially in Autobiography trim, but Land Rover is open to such a halo model to take on the Bentley Bentayga, Automotive News Europe reports. Land Rover chief of design Gerry McGovern indicated that an ultra-luxury model could be built to be positioned above the plushest Range Rover model.

"Why not? We've realized that the Range Rover has got this big expanse across its price range, so it's not a very big step to get into Bentayga country," McGovern told Automotive News Europe.

The sub-brand currently offers four models, not counting the rest of the Land Rover lineup: Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar and the Range Rover itself. McGovern indicated that he would like to see additional Range Rover models join the lineup, admitting that their overlap in size is not a concern for him, likely referencing the closeness of the Sport and the recently launched Velar.

"I would argue you could have two Range Rovers exactly the same size, but if they had two personalities then they would both have equal appeal but to different customers," McGovern said.

The motivation for a model positioned above the Range Rover may well be the sales success of the Bentley Bentayga. As Automotive News Europe notes: The new SUV is already accounting for about 50 percent of all new Bentley sales, recording north of 5,000 units out of a total of 11,023 sold last year, despite going on sale only during the second half of the year in most markets, including North America. Priced at around $230,000, the Bentayga is recording brisk sales at a time when large and pricey SUVs are back in vogue. The Bentayga will soon be joined by the Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV, which Rolls-Royce is taking great pains to avoid calling an SUV.

McGovern argues that unlike Bentley, Range Rover has the pedigree to pull off such a ultra-luxury model, referring to Bentley being new to SUVs. But he did not elaborate what such a model could offer that the current Range Rover does not.

A handful of coachbuilders and armorers, like Carat Duchatelet, have offered stretched and retrimmed versions of Range Rovers for years, some offering first-class seating before the debut of the factory long-wheelbase Rangie in Autobiography trim. Most custom examples have focused on maximizing room for rear-seat passengers, which makes sense as Range Rovers have become an alternative to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and other chauffeured luxury sedans.

source: http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/even-plusher-range-rover-halo-model-way

by Jay Ramey

http://www.boscheuropean.com