While Land Rover is a bit secluded in its specialty 4x4 bubble, there are some novelties worthy of mentioning as of late. More precisely, they're making the Defender even greater with the new Octa V8 version and also preparing for the EV revolution with the Range Rover Electric.
The British company is preparing to bring out the most powerful Defender ever later this year – the Octa version will pack a twin-turbocharged mild hybrid V8 and loads of on- and off-road performance to go along with it. Additionally, they're also spinning the EV narrative for the flagship Range Rover SUV with the first revealing images of the zero-emissions model as a spitting image of the ICE-powered model.
Well, that's interesting – Land Rover has started the teasing game way ahead of the actual date of bringing the Range Rover EV to market. More precisely, in December 2023, they opened the waiting list just as the first prototypes kicked off the testing phase. Speaking of experience, the latter usually takes a lot – two years is usually the norm – but if the company decides to use the current Range Rover underpinnings, they could trim that down to around a year.
As such, seeing the ICE and EV models looking almost the same wasn't entirely unsurprising a few months later. Alas, that doesn't mean they will look dated when they arrive on the market. At least not according to the rumor mill and the imaginative realm of digital car content creators because Land Rover could also hide a trump card – the Range Rover EV could arrive together with the 2025 or 2026 Range Rover's mid-cycle upgrade.
The good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube have a satellite venue dubbed AutoYa Interior, and that's where all the (CGI) Land Rover Range Rover action is – with the host confident that the British automaker will soon bring out a refreshed flagship SUV to the market. More precisely, they have unofficially envisioned the 2025 or 2026 Range Rover with internal combustion engines (hybrids included, of course).
In their hypothetical vision, the L460 fifth generation, which appeared in public for the first time in late 2021, will undergo a subtle facelift procedure touching the headlights (with slimmer units), the radiator grille, front bumper, and also the LED taillights which gain a horizontal style instead of the current vertical one. Additionally, the interior will feature a larger but vertically stacked central infotainment screen while the steering wheel also changes to a slimmer model.
Naturally, the channel's pixel master hasn't forgotten about the classic paintjob reel, and the 2025 or 2026 Range Rover facelift is presented from all angles, complete with ritzy shades both for the exterior and interior. So, what do you think? Also, just to be sure, they also rendered the Range Rover EV squarely based on the current model.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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