Photo: Land Rover
Take a good look at the bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful Range Rover Velar in the photo gallery, then try to imagine the luxury SUV sitting closer to the ground in terms of both ground clearance and overall height. That’s how most people imagine the “Road Rover” we’ve been hearing for a few years now, an all-electric vehicle underpinned by the Modular Longitudinal Architecture.
MLA for short, this platform is a top-down redesign of the D7x that premiered with the 2020 Defender off-road utility vehicle. Developed for rear- and all-wheel-drive applications, the MLA should enter production next year in the full-size Range Rover. The MLA promises a substantial reduction in curb weight, allowing Land Rover to further implement its electrification strategy.
So where does the Road Rover fit in, you ask? Autocar.co.uk talks about company documents referring to the newcomer as “a medium SUV,” which leads us to believe that the footprint will be close to the Velar. A dual-motor setup and 90.2-kWh battery pack should also be featured, more so if you remember the next Jaguar XJ is set to receive the same setup in 2020.
The British publication goes even further, claiming that the Road Rover “is expected to sit between the Evoque and the Velar in terms of overall size.” There is no evidence that Land Rover will use the nameplate even though they’ve trademarked Road Rover in 2018, but in the meantime, this nameplate will serve as a placeholder. At the time, it was rumored the electric vehicle would premiere in at this year’s edition of the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Road Rover used to be an experimental model in the 1950s, bridging the gap between passenger cars and the Land Rover. From that prototype, a concept born in the 1960s would be adapted into the Range Rover.
Jaguar Land Rover developed the Modular Longitudinal Architecture for three levels of electrification, starting with mild-hybrid assistance for an internal combustion engine such as the straight-six Ingenium. Plug-in hybrids and all-electric models are also planned, and Jaguar is believed to make the best out of the MLA with the J-Pace flagship utility vehicle in 2021.
So where does the Road Rover fit in, you ask? Autocar.co.uk talks about company documents referring to the newcomer as “a medium SUV,” which leads us to believe that the footprint will be close to the Velar. A dual-motor setup and 90.2-kWh battery pack should also be featured, more so if you remember the next Jaguar XJ is set to receive the same setup in 2020.
The British publication goes even further, claiming that the Road Rover “is expected to sit between the Evoque and the Velar in terms of overall size.” There is no evidence that Land Rover will use the nameplate even though they’ve trademarked Road Rover in 2018, but in the meantime, this nameplate will serve as a placeholder. At the time, it was rumored the electric vehicle would premiere in at this year’s edition of the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Road Rover used to be an experimental model in the 1950s, bridging the gap between passenger cars and the Land Rover. From that prototype, a concept born in the 1960s would be adapted into the Range Rover.
Jaguar Land Rover developed the Modular Longitudinal Architecture for three levels of electrification, starting with mild-hybrid assistance for an internal combustion engine such as the straight-six Ingenium. Plug-in hybrids and all-electric models are also planned, and Jaguar is believed to make the best out of the MLA with the J-Pace flagship utility vehicle in 2021.
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