While the Range Rover may be its halo car, no model is more emblematic of Land Rover tradition than the classic Discovery – sold in the U.S. as the LR4.
And the British maker is getting ready to present what has dubbed the “New Age of Discovery Concept” at the New York Auto Show a couple weeks from now – a preliminary teaser image shown here.
“Discovery has been pivotal in helping to build the foundations of the Land Rover brand,” notes design chief Gerry McGovern.
“It is admired all over the world and loved by its strong customer base,” added McGovern, who also serve as Chief Creative Officer. “We have created the Vision Concept to share the essence of Land Rover’s new age of Discovery and to debut a new, compelling, relevant design direction that connects on an emotional level with customers of today and tomorrow.”
Just how much will change with the new “Disco,” as it’s widely known, remains to be seen but it is expected to see some softening of its traditionally boxy shape, at least if an accompanying video is any indication.
Significantly, Land Rover is referring to the concept coming to New York as its “vision for a new family of premium SUVs,” and that is likely to mean the underlying platform for the show car will provide the foundation not only for the next Discovery/LR4, but also for such other models as the next-generation Land Rover Freelander – all sharing what the maker claims will be “emotive design, unrivalled capability and ultimate versatility.”
Look for both models to go on sale in 2015.
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The Discovery will be the bigger of the two and will feature three-row seating for seven, including a middle row that can slide and fold.
The teaser image, above, suggests a much more modern interior design with the addition of more technology than any Discovery before – including a larger LCD display at the top of the center stack. No surprise, of course, in an era when infotainment technology is the key selling point for many buyers.
The unveiling of the Discovery Concept coincides with the 25th anniversary of that Land Rover nameplate – but the debut of the production model will mark a new marketing strategy for the now Indian-owned maker.
Going forward, look for Land Rover products to fall into three distinct pillars. The next Discovery is expected to anchor the “leisure” group, while the Defender will serve as the heart of the “dual purpose” group. The Range Rover and its spin-offs will, no surprise, make up the “luxury group.”
(Click Here to check out the latest on the new Bentley ultra-SUV.)
