Range Rover has spent decades building its name on boxy, go-anywhere SUVs. Its newest model throws that formula out entirely.
The Range Rover GT is a low, fastback grand tourer, the fifth model in the brand's lineup alongside the standard Range Rover, Sport, Velar and Evoque. It rides on JLR's new EMA architecture, an electric-first platform that will also support plug-in hybrid variants down the line.
Martin Limpert, Range Rover's managing director, said the team had been sketching the concept for years, aiming for something that felt car-like without giving up the brand's off-road ability. Camouflaged prototypes show a sweeping roofline and a rear end that trades the marque's usual squared-off silhouette for something closer to a sports sedan.
Inside, the GT breaks just as sharply from convention. Physical buttons are mostly gone, replaced by a large floating touchscreen and a slim driver display, though Range Rover kept the tactile controls that European safety regulators still require. Notably, the brand resisted the industry trend of adding a third screen for the front passenger, and the head-up display comes standard.
The GT effectively puts Range Rover in direct competition with premium electric tourers such as the Porsche Taycan, and it arrives alongside a related project at sister brand Jaguar, which is developing its own four-door GT on a separate platform called JEA.
The timing says a lot about where the luxury car market is heading. SUVs have faced growing political and regulatory pressure in parts of Europe, and rivals like Porsche and Bentley have already gone the other direction by adding SUVs to their own lineups. Range Rover is betting it can profitably move the opposite way, from bulky utility vehicle toward sleek tourer, without losing the capability that defines the badge.
Full specifications, range figures and pricing are expected closer to the GT's formal reveal later this year.