LESS IS MORE

THE fourth generation Land Rover L405 was launched at the Paris Motor Show in 2012. Fast forward to nearly a decade and here I am at JLR’s impressive Gaydon design facility to get a first peek at the all-new fifth generation Range Rover, the L460. I have been to a few of these momentous reveals at Gaydon, including the current Discovery and Defender.

My favourite bit of the whole reveal is when Prof Gerry McGovern OBE, JLR’s Chief Creative Officer, takes to the floor. Like him or hate him the man has been at the helm of design when JLR has enjoyed both their most successful and now most challenging times.

Before the big unveil Gerry likes to set the scene and explain the thinking behind JLR’s current design strategy. I don’t mind this design speak sermon as the buck stops with brother Gerry. It’s a sermon I have heard several times, I can almost lip sync the Gerryisms. We recognise our heritage but we are looking to the future. We are taking a modernist approach with a focus on clean surfaces and reduction. The list goes on and on, but it does make his and JLR’s current design strategies very, very clear. It certainly shows when one takes a long, hard look at the current Range Rover Velar and Defender.

Drum roll. Time for the covers to come off the three 2022MY Range Rovers in attendance. My initial reaction? Still very much a Range