Photo: Antoine Achalendard via Instagram
How do you make an SUV more luxurious and extravagant? Well, Land Rover decided in November 2015 that the answer was to turn the Evoque into a convertible.
The Range Rover Evoque Convertible was presented that month at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It will take until this April for the Chinese market debut to take place. However, one sneaky buyer has managed to get one into Shanghai.
Car Consultant Antoine Achalendard posted a photo of the RR drop-top on his Instagram account two days ago. We know that SUVs are supposed to get dirty, but this one looks like it's been covered in the heavy pollution that envelops many big cities in China.
But it's not just the People's Republic that's been dealing with this problem. Major cities all over Europe have been reporting a rise in pollution levels, especially at rush hour. Considering most people rich enough to own the Evoque are city dwellers, we wonder when they are ever going to be able to put the top down.
We have no doubt that Land Rover engineers have built a convertible that can cross rivers and climb rocks. However, if it's just AWD that you need, there are plenty of roadsters and convertible sportscars that offer it: Audi S3, Audi TT, BMW 2 Series, Jaguar F-Type, etc.
Why are we so against the Evoque Convertible? Because as standard, the model weighs 1,936 kg (4,268 lbs), which is 2 pounds more than an Audi RS6 Avant. To move this much bulk, the American market will get a 2.0-liter turbo that delivers 240 PS and 251 lb-ft (340 Nm) of torque through a standard 9-speed automatic. With a 0 to 60 time of 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h), it's about as slow as a regular compact. The European diesel models are even worse.
The Evoque Convertible will be imported from Britain to China, unlike the regular SUVs that are now made by the Chery-JLR venture. That means they will be subjected to heavy taxes and could cost as much as $100,000.
Car Consultant Antoine Achalendard posted a photo of the RR drop-top on his Instagram account two days ago. We know that SUVs are supposed to get dirty, but this one looks like it's been covered in the heavy pollution that envelops many big cities in China.
But it's not just the People's Republic that's been dealing with this problem. Major cities all over Europe have been reporting a rise in pollution levels, especially at rush hour. Considering most people rich enough to own the Evoque are city dwellers, we wonder when they are ever going to be able to put the top down.
We have no doubt that Land Rover engineers have built a convertible that can cross rivers and climb rocks. However, if it's just AWD that you need, there are plenty of roadsters and convertible sportscars that offer it: Audi S3, Audi TT, BMW 2 Series, Jaguar F-Type, etc.
Why are we so against the Evoque Convertible? Because as standard, the model weighs 1,936 kg (4,268 lbs), which is 2 pounds more than an Audi RS6 Avant. To move this much bulk, the American market will get a 2.0-liter turbo that delivers 240 PS and 251 lb-ft (340 Nm) of torque through a standard 9-speed automatic. With a 0 to 60 time of 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h), it's about as slow as a regular compact. The European diesel models are even worse.
The Evoque Convertible will be imported from Britain to China, unlike the regular SUVs that are now made by the Chery-JLR venture. That means they will be subjected to heavy taxes and could cost as much as $100,000.
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