New Range Rover Electric to offer performance of V8 and ultra-rapid charging

Teaser images give us first look at zero-emission Range Rover, which will offer class-leading refinement and off-road ability

Land Rover has given us our first official look at the forthcoming Range Rover Electric, with a series of teaser images and a few early nuggets of information. It’s shaping up to be the most luxurious version of the flagship 4×4, but with no compromises when it comes to performance or off-road ability.

A total of five pictures have been issued so far, showing close ups of the car’s trim and grille, as well as unique EV-branded centre caps for the alloy wheels. A short teaser video accompanied the images, revealing that owners of the zero-emission Range Rover won’t be troubled with a manual-opening charge port; the electrically operated door slides right to left to reveal the car’s CCS plug and charge indicators.

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In typical EV fashion, the grille looks more flush than on the standard Range Rover – presumably for efficiency reasons, and because the car’s batteries and electric motors require less cooling. There’s copper-coloured trim on the side of the car, though it’s not clear at this stage whether this will be specific to the EV, or an option across the range.

Despite Land Rover revealing a close-up picture of the electric Range Rover’s tailgate and rear light cluster, there are no obvious changes to the design here. That means the same darkened lamps and full-width black trim, featuring the usual Range Rover lettering. We’d assume the EV does without any kind of tailpipes in the lower bumper, but JLR’s has left this to our imagination for the time being.

The Range Rover EV will sit on the same Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) platform as the existing petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid models, and be built in the same factory in Solihull in the West Midlands. Jaguar Land Rover says the batteries and electric drive units – details of which are still under wraps – will be assembled at the company’s new Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton.

JLR says the electric Range Rover will “deliver performance comparable to a flagship V8” when it goes on sale in 2024. The only other technical details revealed so far surround the car’s 800-volt electrical architecture – similar to the system used in the Porsche Taycan. This should give the Range Rover access to the UK’s expanding network of 350kW ultra-rapid charge points, and while battery sizes haven’t been confirmed, we’d expect a 10-80 per cent charge to be possible in under 30 minutes – even for a battery of 100kWh or more.

Thomas Müller, Executive Director for Product Engineering at JLR said, “We are on target to create the quietest and most refined Range Rover ever. The magic ingredients that underpin the success of Range Rover remain unchanged – now offered with zero tailpipe emissions.”  

But it will also be able to perform off road, just as any Land Rover product should. The firm says the car’s testing regime will see it “subjected to one of the most rigorous engineering sign-off programmes ever – to confirm capability spanning extreme temperatures, all conditions and every terrain”. Land Rover says the Range Rover EV will be able to wade to depths of 850mm – the same as a coil-sprung current-generation Defender.

Along with the images and early information, Land Rover has confirmed that a waiting list is now open, though pre-orders won’t start until some time in 2024. 

Geraldine Ingham, Managing Director for Range Rover said, “Since going on sale in 2021, the latest generation Range Rover has set a new benchmark for desirability. Across the globe, we’re seeing the highest levels of client demand in our 53-year history.

“Because of this unprecedented success story, we’re now opening the official waiting list for the opportunity to be among the first to place a pre-order for the most anticipated Range Rover of recent times.”

Click here for our list of the best electric SUVs…

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