The inevitable is happening – JLR (formerly known as Jaguar Land Rover) is teasing its first-ever electric Range Rover. Even before the full debut, the British luxury brand is already accepting preorders from early adopters. In the meantime, preliminary details confirm the high-end SUV won't lose its iconic off-road chops.
The switch from combustion engines to a fully electric powertrain won't come at the expense of all-terrain abilities. The brand says prototypes are being subjected to one of the harshest testing programs ever to ensure go-anywhere capabilities. Land Rover mentions the Range Rover Electric will wade through waters as deep as 33.4 inches. That means it'll match the mighty Defender fitted with its coil-spring suspension.
Range Rover Electric teasers
It's touted as being "the quietest and most refined Range Rover ever" while offering performance comparable to a V8. We'll remind you that the eight-cylinder variant uses a twin-turbo 4.4-liter mill from BMW with up to 606 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. The Range Rover SV does 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and tops out at 162 mph.
The zero-emission Rangie will ride on the same Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) as the versions equipped with a combustion engine. Support for fast charging will be possible by adopting an 800-volt architecture. Although not mentioned in the announcement, a dual-motor setup is a logical assumption since the electric SUV will definitely have all-wheel drive.
The teasers released today hint at a design almost identical to the conventionally powered SUV. We are noticing the wheel center caps have an EV script rather than the Land Rover logo while the grille seems to have a more closed-off layout. Obviously, there's now a charging port through which the presumably large battery will draw its juice. Don't be too surprised if the battery’s capacity is going to have three digits.
The Range Rover Electric spearheads JLR’s ambition to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2039.
