The near-production, long-wheelbase Range Rover spy photographers from news agency Automedia have just captured testing in Germany could be the ideal transport for a growing royal family.
Proud parents William and Kate left hospital in London with newborn son Prince George safely secure in the back seat of a new Range Rover.
It was the standard fourth-generation model now on sale in New Zealand. But the longer wheelbase version would be a better bet, said Automedia lightly, if William and Kate have more children.
Not only does it offer much more rear passenger space, and the possibility of a third row of seats, but it is likely to come with optional hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains, something William’s “greenie” dad Prince Charles would approve of.
The thinly disguised spy pictures here show an obviously longer Range Rover with an equally obvious longer rear door. It is the first stretched production model Range Rover has offered since the nameplate first appeared in 1970.
The new model is likely to be unveiled either at the Frankfurt show in September or Geneva in January, and go into production next year.
The standard Range Rover was launched in New Zealand earlier this year. The first two variants were the 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged 250kW/700Nm diesel V8 from $210,000 and the supercharged 375kW/625Nm 5-litre V8 petrol unit at $255,000. The introductory 3-litre twin-turbocharged 190kW/600Nm diesel has just arrived here, priced from $185,000.
Land Rover brand manager Helen Sunley said demand for the new Range Rover exceeds supply. “We’ve already got 40 forward orders for the Range Rover Sport. We are hoping to get a Sport for a customer day in October, but we don’t expect it to arrive in numbers until December.”