What's the news?
Land Rover has confirmed the rumours: there will indeed be a brand new SUV in the line-up, to be unveiled at next month's Geneva Motor Show, and it's not the expected Defender replacement. The new car is called the Range Rover Velar and it is set to sit between the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport in the now four-vehicle line-up.
Exterior
For now, all we have are the design sketches of the rear of the Velar and a single photograph taken from up high at the back. This reveals a distinct and slim rear light design, retaining Range Rover's signature rectangular LED daytime running light style, with its own take on it. A strong shoulder line is visible, as is a large panoramic glass roof. It's expected that the front will adopt the face of the larger Range Rovers, with a clamshell bonnet and detailing inspired by the Evoque.
Land Rover Chief Design Officer, 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 Range Rover Velar changes everything."
Mechanicals
Land Rover is keeping the full reveal of the Velar for next week, so there are no official mechanical details as yet, but as the new car clearly shares a platform with the Land Rover Discovery Sport and the Jaguar F-Pace, it's highly likely to also use their engines. On the sensible side of things, we suspect a minimum output will be the 180hp 2.0-litre Ingenium diesel, followed by the twin-turbo variant used in the new Land Rover Discovery, producing 240hp. But we also expect to see at least one 3.0-litre V6 version, probably the supercharged petrol unit that makes 380hp in the F-Pace 3.0 V6 S. You can be sure that SVO is already planning an SVR version too if the bonkers Range Rover Sport SVR is anything to go by.
Land Rover does say that the Velar will be for 'every terrain', so it's likely to be four-wheel drive only and utilise the company's renowned Terrain Response driving system.
Anything else?
The Velar's name is derived from velare in Latin, meaning to veil or cover. Its use by Land Rover dates back to the sixties, when it was applied to 26 pre-production Range Rover prototypes to hide their true identities.