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All-new Range Rover Crossover planned for 2021

Land Rover Discovery, Land Rover Defender
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Land Rover will launch a new model called the Range Rover Crossover in 2021. It will use the same MLA platform as the new Range Rover and will be offered with a zero-emission pure-electric powertrain, as well as low-emission plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid models.

While the Crossover has yet to be officially confirmed by the manufacturer, it's understood that the car will be built in the UK at the firm’s Castle Bromwich factory. Our exclusive image previews what it could look like, with a swooping roofline and a sharply angled windscreen giving it a more rakish profile, and narrow LED headlights surrounding the traditional Range Rover grille at the front.

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The addition of a road-focused crossover to the firm’s model range would be a significant shift for Land Rover, representing an onus entirely on luxury and stylish design ahead of off-road ability. 

According to Land Rover’s Design Director, Gerry McGovern, who spoke to our sister publication Auto Express, the Range Rover Crossover would see the firm move into the luxury car sector of the market, saying: “For me, what we’ve actually shown is the ability of the brand to stretch and be different. We always have been quite pioneering. Let me just put it this way – if people like Bentley and Rolls-Royce can do an SUV, why can’t Land Rover or Range Rover do a luxury car?”

The new Range Rover Crossover will be underpinned by the MLA platform, which is capable of housing a pair of electric motors, one on the front axle and one on the rear, making it four-wheel drive. It will also get a smaller battery pack than the 100kWh unit slated for the pure-electric Range Rover, but with a similar range of around 300 miles thanks to smaller dimensions and less weight.

As part of Land Rover’s plans to electrify its model range alongside the Crossover, the Evoque will be the first model to be available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain comprising of a new 1.5-litre three-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine and a small electric motor. The same powertrain is expected to be tweaked for use in the Discovery Sport, which will arrive in 2020, shortly after the Evoque hybrid.

The new Land Rover Defender will also get the PHEV treatment in 2021. It will use the same plug-in hybrid powertrain as the Range Rover PHEV, comprising of a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated to an electric motor that offers around 30 miles of electric-only range.

Do you want to know more about electric and hybrid SUVs? Why not read our picks for the best hybrid SUVs you can buy in 2019.

Source: www.carbuyer.co.uk

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