Land Rover confirms Range Rover Velar: first official picture

The Range Rover Velar has been confirmed by Land Rover as the latest addition to its line-up, with the brand revealing the first image of the model.

It will sit between the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport in the brand’s line-up and introduce an all-new interior design language for the firm.

As the fourth model in the line-up, the mid-sized SUV is described by Range Rover as “filling the white space between the Evoque and Range Rover Sport”. It is a vital price point for Range Rover, plugging the gap between the £40,000 Evoque and £80,000 Sport and challenging important rivals such as the Porsche Macan and BMW X6.

The first image of the Velar shows a familiar design language, as seen on the existing Range Rover models, but with far smoother lines than previously. Whereas current models have numerous angular lines at the rear end, the Velar has a continuous sweep from the sides to the rear of the bodywork, creating a sleek, sporty silhouette.

A circling line of chrome further accentuates this continuation and the relatively small rear window further enhances the coupé-like styling, making the model less boxy than the current Range Rovers.

A panoramic sunroof also suggests an airy cabin and a glimpse of the infotainment system, showing two screens — one wide and central and one behind the wheel — closely reflects the interior shown on Jaguar’s all-electric I-Pace SUV seen at the Los Angeles Motor Show in November last year.

Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern said: “We call the Velar the avant-garde Range Rover. It brings a new dimension of glamour, modernity and elegance to the brand.”

The Velar is set to be the most on-road-focused model yet produced by Land Rover. The company has described it as “refined for every occasion and terrain” and said it “uses unique sustainable materials and advanced engineering to continue Land Rover’s drive to go Above and Beyond”, referring to the company’s advertising tagline.

The name ‘Velar’ comes from the original Range Rover prototypes from 1969. It was used by development engineers to hide the identity of the 26 pre-production Range Rovers and is derived from the Latin ‘velaris’, meaning to veil or cover.

Autocar UK has previously reported that the five-seater will be closely related to the Jaguar F-Pace, with which it shares Jaguar Land Rover’s IQ platform. All Velars will have four-wheel drive and be built alongside the Range Rover Sport and F-Pace in the aluminium body and assembly plant in Solihull, West Midlands.

It will be launched with the Ford-built V6s currently used in the range but they will be replaced later by Ingenium in-line six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. A plug-in hybrid based on the 295bhp four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine is also expected.