Due this year, the new EV will have the same go-anywhere capability as ICE versions
FELIX PAGE
The new electric Range Rover has been all but revealed as final-stage testing gets under way in preparation for its launch later this year.
New images show JLR’s second production EV testing in the Arctic Circle – following a year of component and virtual tests – where temperatures fall as low as -40deg C.
Unusually, the electric Range Rover has been shown completely uncamouflaged – a decision made to “underline the build quality of the initial prototypes”, according to its maker.
Painted entirely in black without the contrasting matt trim elements that JLR has previously suggested will mark out the EV powertrain, the prototype looks all but identical to the combustion Range Rover that has been on sale since 2022.
JLR said these new images show how the prototype’s “modernist design language stays true to the Range Rover bloodline”, suggesting that the Range Rover Electric – as it is officially named – will be only subtly differentiated from the straight-six, V8 and plug-in hybrid derivatives.
The focus at this stage of the Range Rover Electric’s development programme is said to be on the performance of its gearbox, electric motors and electronics in extreme conditions. This is the first JLR model to use a battery and electric drive unit assembled in-house.
The company also revealed that, rather than a conventional ABS-based traction control system, the EV uses new software to precisely manage slip at each wheel and the firm claims to have reduced the “torque reaction time at each wheel from around 100 milliseconds to as little as one millisecond”. As a result, “traction is maximised on all surfaces with exceptional response and composed refinement, significantly enhancing the Range Rover drive experience”, according to JLR.
No specific technical details have been given yet, however, beyond the earlier confirmation that it will use an 800V charging architecture.
JLR opened the waiting list for the first electric Range Rover in December last year and by February claimed to have taken more than 16,000 expressions of interest.
While the waiting list gives only an indication of interested customers, rather than a formal reservation, JLR chief Adrian Mardell said the firm is “excited about the strong client interest” in the EV.
The company has yet to disclose any performance details about the ne
