When Land Rover debuted the fifth-generation Range Rover back in 2021, the British automaker announced that a fully electric version of the new big-body Range would be coming in 2024. Now, Land Rover has released the first teasers of the Range Rover Electric, opening up the waiting list for customers as the brand’s first EV enters its prototype testing phase.
In terms of styling differences, the teasers don’t show much. The grille features the same slotted design as the standard Range Rover, but most of it is actually a blocked-off panel. The wheel centre caps say “EV” instead of having the Land Rover logo, and the fuel filler door on the rear fender is replaced by a slide-out panel that hides the charge port. It’s also likely to have tweaked bumper designs and other slight design tweaks, but otherwise it’ll look like the Range Rover we know and love.
To make up for the relative lack of visuals from these teasers, Land Rover has divulged a lot of details about the Range Rover Electric, which it anticipates will have more newly filed patents than any Range Rover before it. The electric Range will be based on the same MLA platform as the gas-powered models and feature an 800-volt architecture that will provide fast charging capabilities.
According to Land Rover the EV’s overall performance and off-road capability will be comparable to the V8-powered Range Rovers – it’ll even be able to ford water that’s 33.5 inches deep, matching the Land Rover Defender and nearly equalling the big gas Range’s 35.4-inch capability. Thanks to new active noise-cancelling technology and the inherent quietness that going electric affords, Land Rover says the EV will be the quietest and most refined Range Rover yet.
Physical prototypes are starting to hit roads and trails now, with Land Rover saying the Range Rover EV’s testing regimen will be one of its most rigorous ever. It will be subjected to temperatures from -4 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius in locals like Dubai and Sweden, and the testing program has been specifically designed to ensure the battery pack and electric drivetrain can withstand all kinds of weather and terrain.
We still don’t know exactly when the Range Rover Electric will go on sale or how much it will cost, but prospective customers are now able to sign up to be on the waiting list through Land Rover’s website. The Range Rover EV will be built at the same Solihull, United Kingdom plant as the other Range Rovers, with the brand investing an additional $US88 million in the facility for EV production. Following the Range Rover EV will be electric versions of the Range Rover Velar and Evoque as well as the Land Rover Defender, with JLR hoping to build a new battery facility in England.
Image: Land Rover
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