These are the first spy shots of the extended-wheelbase Range Rover Evoque. The stretched version of the baby Rangie will go on sale late in 2013, likely carrying a slight price premium over the regular five-door Evoque, on account of its larger boot and roomier cabin.
Range Rover Evoque LWB: the scoop
As you’ll see in these spy shots, a liberal coating of camouflage can’t hide this Evoque’s stretched bodystyle.
The roof still slopes down towards the Evoque’s rear spoiler, but the panel is longer, and there’s a wider gap between the C- and D-pillar, sandwiching a larger quarterlight window. This extra rear space hints that Land Rover could offer a seven-seater option in the Evoque LWB.
Why would Land Rover want to offer a seven-seat Evoque?
A long-wheelbase Evoque wouldn’t follow the same template as the forthcoming Range Rover LWB, in offering maximum rear legroom to chauffeured passengers. Instead, the purpose here is to boost the Evoque’s family car credentials, without sacrificing too much of its concept car appearance.
Such a move could allow JLR to push the next-gen seven-seat Discovery further upmarket, occupying some of the ground vacated by the new Range Rover. At £71,295 in basic trim, the new Rangie is almost twice the price of a regular Discovery 4.
The new 2013 Range Rover Sport will partly plug that gap, but shoring up the other end of the model line-up with an ‘MPV Evoque’ would increase JLR’s volumes as it looks to build on a strong 2012, which has seen sales rise 18% over 2011’s totals.
>> Could the LWB Evoque be the pick of the range, or a version too far? Tell us your thoughts in the article comments below