Photo: Shijie Yu via Instagram
The fourth generation Land Rover Range Rover is already eight years old, but it definitely doesn't look like it. When the new design made its first appearance at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, it was nothing short of shocking.
The legendary British SUV was all about curves all of a sudden, but that didn't mean it had gone soft. It was a bold move, but one that ultimately paid off as the new Range Rover became a best-seller despite the world still recovering from the 2008 financial recession.
Land Rover tried the same formula with the fifth generation of its other iconic SUV, the Discovery. Despite sticking almost completely to the design of the very acclaimed Discovery Vision Concept, the Discovery 5 was met with reluctance by the public when it was launched in 2015 and could be considered a sales flop, leaving Land Rover bosses scratching their heads and wondering where they went wrong.
After the big leap in design brought by the fourth-gen Range Rover, though, the next model should follow a more cautious evolutionary path, rather than a revolutionary one. However, that doesn't mean it has to be boring, which is something this very carefully crafted Nouvel Concept rendering clearly demonstrates.
We're looking at an SUV that's very much caught up with the times it lives in, but that's also true to its heritage. Shijie Yu, the man behind the concept, took a very methodical approach to his creative process and didn't just let his imagination flow wherever it saw fit. Sure, you can get stunning results using the latter method, but they won't be so... let's call it "production-ready" like this one here.
If Land Rover came tomorrow and showed this as a preview for its future Range Rover iteration, you wouldn't be surprised. It ticks all the boxes for what makes a Range Rover a Range Rover while also looking modern, sleek, elegant, and luxurious, as well as a natural progression of the current model.
This isn't one of those rushed efforts either. Shijie Yu worked just as hard on the vehicle's interior as he did on its exterior - if not even more so. He studied the evolution of the dashboard and steering wheel from one generation to the next before deciding what the new ones should look like. It's a very thorough process, and the result shows it.
The interior focuses on comfort and luxury, with the dashboard dominated by a horizontal display that includes the digital instrument cluster - think of the new Mercedes-Benz layout. The central console keeps a few dials presumably for HVAC and infotainment system control and is dominated by an obvious nautical theme.
In the rear, the layout can switch from three regular seats to a more lounge-like two-seat configuration, with the middle seat cushion turning into a shared armrest and a segment with cup holders and the like extending to connect with the fixed central console. It is a reasonably realistic interior that looks upscale and inviting.
Of course, the Land Rover Range Rover Nouvel Concept is an electric vehicle - how else? - which would make it the brand's first. Jaguar Land Rover, the parent company, has shown interest in the technology and was second only to Tesla in offering a battery-powered crossover/SUV when launching the I-Pace model. Introduced two years ago, it remains the company's single effort, but more are scheduled to come in the following years.
Shijie Yu deserves all the credit for a project that's not just visually pleasing, but also thoroughly researched and well put together, bringing a welcome change from the phantasmagoric renderings we usually see. More like this, please.
Land Rover tried the same formula with the fifth generation of its other iconic SUV, the Discovery. Despite sticking almost completely to the design of the very acclaimed Discovery Vision Concept, the Discovery 5 was met with reluctance by the public when it was launched in 2015 and could be considered a sales flop, leaving Land Rover bosses scratching their heads and wondering where they went wrong.
After the big leap in design brought by the fourth-gen Range Rover, though, the next model should follow a more cautious evolutionary path, rather than a revolutionary one. However, that doesn't mean it has to be boring, which is something this very carefully crafted Nouvel Concept rendering clearly demonstrates.
We're looking at an SUV that's very much caught up with the times it lives in, but that's also true to its heritage. Shijie Yu, the man behind the concept, took a very methodical approach to his creative process and didn't just let his imagination flow wherever it saw fit. Sure, you can get stunning results using the latter method, but they won't be so... let's call it "production-ready" like this one here.
If Land Rover came tomorrow and showed this as a preview for its future Range Rover iteration, you wouldn't be surprised. It ticks all the boxes for what makes a Range Rover a Range Rover while also looking modern, sleek, elegant, and luxurious, as well as a natural progression of the current model.
This isn't one of those rushed efforts either. Shijie Yu worked just as hard on the vehicle's interior as he did on its exterior - if not even more so. He studied the evolution of the dashboard and steering wheel from one generation to the next before deciding what the new ones should look like. It's a very thorough process, and the result shows it.
The interior focuses on comfort and luxury, with the dashboard dominated by a horizontal display that includes the digital instrument cluster - think of the new Mercedes-Benz layout. The central console keeps a few dials presumably for HVAC and infotainment system control and is dominated by an obvious nautical theme.
In the rear, the layout can switch from three regular seats to a more lounge-like two-seat configuration, with the middle seat cushion turning into a shared armrest and a segment with cup holders and the like extending to connect with the fixed central console. It is a reasonably realistic interior that looks upscale and inviting.
Of course, the Land Rover Range Rover Nouvel Concept is an electric vehicle - how else? - which would make it the brand's first. Jaguar Land Rover, the parent company, has shown interest in the technology and was second only to Tesla in offering a battery-powered crossover/SUV when launching the I-Pace model. Introduced two years ago, it remains the company's single effort, but more are scheduled to come in the following years.
Shijie Yu deserves all the credit for a project that's not just visually pleasing, but also thoroughly researched and well put together, bringing a welcome change from the phantasmagoric renderings we usually see. More like this, please.
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