2017 Range Rover Evoque Convertible

No Victoria Beckham, you didn't design a car!

Gerry McGovern and Victoria Beckham posed with the special edition VB Evoque at its launch in 2012. But it's fair to say they don't really get along anymore...

Victoria Beckham is at the centre of an extraordinary row over her part in designing a special edition of the Range Rover.

Gerry McGovern, 61, design director at Land Rover, which makes the cars, has accused the former Spice Girl-turned-fashionista of exaggerating her role at the launch of a special VB Evoque, where she claimed: "I’ve designed a car that I want to drive, a car I think [husband] David wants to drive."

But Mr McGovern said at a publicity event last week: "She didn’t design the car… I’ve forgotten more than that woman will ever know about [car] designing – to be a car designer takes years. When we went to China to present it, she stood up in front of the world’s press and said, 'When I designed this car…' I said, 'Victoria, that wasn’t on the script.'

"She said, 'Oh, I didn’t realise what I was saying.'"

His irritation goes back to 2012 when Mrs Beckham, 43, was asked to create a version of the Evoque with "restrained colour and detail changes", as the company explained. But not to "change the award-winning design".

The car featured matt paintwork, vintage-inspired leather seats, ‘rose gold accents’ inspired by Mrs Beckham’s watch, mohair trimmings and a leather luggage set. "We never said she designed the car – that’s an assumption people made," said Mr McGovern.

In one interview, Mrs Beckham said: "I wanted to really roll my sleeves up and get involved. I never just put my name on anything… I was very hands-on."

Mrs Beckham’s launch speech clearly still irritates Mr McGovern, who said last week: "I didn’t want to work with her after that."

Land Rover said: "The three-year project was completed in full by both parties and was a huge creative success around the world. Mrs Beckham remains part of the Land Rover family."

Mrs Beckham would not comment.

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/no-victoria-beckham-you-didnt-design-a-car-10324136

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2017 Range Rover Evoque Convertible | Road Test - MotorWeek

[video=youtube;acGxSTkflpY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acGxSTkflpY[/video]
 
Land Rover design boss says this car ‘saved’ brand…

Land Rover’s outspoken design boss says that many people – including some inside his own firm – doubted him when he designed the Range Rover Evoque, but added that it ended up “saving” the British brand.

Gerry McGovern told CarAdvice that traditionalists within the brand didn’t believe the Evoque had the potential to sell in large volumes.

“When we first developed that car, they said I was around the twist. ‘You might sell 20 000 a year’, said the marketing guy – haven’t seen that marketing guy around for a while – and yet we’ve been selling 130 000 a year for six years. That car saved us,” McGovern told the Australian publication.

He went on to add that the Velar could perform a similar role for the marque.

“Velar is definitely the most car-like Range Rover ever built, which is why I had to convince the PR guys that we needed to put these vehicles on 22-inch wheels. For me the car is optimum in terms of its proportion and design when it’s got 22-inch wheels on it,” he added.

Interestingly, McGovern revealed an intention to create additional products that would play outside of “traditional segments”.

“I’d like to do a two-door Range Rover, why not? I think there are opportunities to create more unique products as opposed to traditional segments. We’ve got a fierce cadence of vehicles over the coming years, because in this age, we’ve got to be quick to market, we’ve got to be flexible and we’ve got to think outside the box.”

However, he did rule out a seven-seat Range Rover.

“Range Rover is the crown jewels in our model range, so it’s things like formality, elegance, sophistication and the levels of those you dial up from one vehicle to another, which creates that hierarchy and positioning.

“This is why we won’t do a seven-seat Range Rover, because with this vehicle, it’s about exclusivity. The optimum seven-seat vehicle for us is the Discovery, and it’s probably equal or not far off the Range Rover in terms of ‘premium-ness’. But overall the Discovery is about versatility, whereas with Range Rover it’s about refinement.”

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/land-rover-design-boss-says-this-car-saved-brand/
 
SOFT-TOP SUV AN ‘IDEA NOBODY ASKED FOR’ – MERCEDES

The folks over at Mercedes-Benz certainly know how to create and then fill a segment the world never thought it needed. But it seems the Stuttgart automaker will draw the line at the convertible SUV.

Well, if you exclude the Maybach G650 Landaulet, that is.

Yes, Robert Lesnik, the exterior design director at the German automaker, told wheelsmag.com.au that there would be little sense in Mercedes-Benz engineering a soft-top SUV.

“What for? To sell 500 cars or whatever?” he asked.

“If it’s easy to do, then why not? You could have nothing to lose. But to do a whole car for it – for an idea that nobody really asked for – well, there’s a reason there’s only one car on the market,” Lesnik told the Australian publication, making reference to the Range Rover Evoque Convertible.

Lesnik went on to explain that the German brand would face significant structural challenges were it to attempt to transform any of its existing, five-door SUVs into rag-tops.

“It’s very easy to do a convertible out of a two-door car, because you have the structure. The Evoque, for example, there is a five-door and a three-door. So it’s easy to do; it does not cost much.

“If you have a GLC, for example, you have to change the whole structure to do a convertible, like what Nissan did with the Murano,” he added.

While Mercedes has aggressively expanded its SUV range with various coupé-like and performance derivatives, a convertible body-style seems a bridge too far.

“We should not do everything,” Lesnik said.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/soft-top-suv-an-idea-nobody-asked-for-mercedes/
 
SPIED: New Land Rover Evoque challenging Pikes Peak

Eagle-eyed Wheels24 reader Arrie Rossouw observed the lightly camouflaged Evoque Mk 2 undergoing altitude and traction at the legendary Pikes Peak.

Ahead of the introduction of the new Range Rover Velar in South Africa and the news that the 2018 Range Rover Sport will also be available as a plug-in hybrid model, the next-generation Range Rover Evoque was spotted testing at the legendary Pikes Peak in Colorado in the United States this week.

Eagle-eyed Wheels24 reader Arrie Rossouw observed the lightly camouflaged Evoque Mk 2 from Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) undergoing altitude and traction tests at the 4302m peak.

Subtle changes

Pikes Peak, the highest mountain in the southern range of the Rockies, is renowned for its century-old hill climb event, also known as The Race to the Clouds, on a 20km route with 156 turns and a grading averaging 7.2%.

From the pictures it is clear the distinctive rear of the Evoque has been left virtually unchanged, bar a new rear valance and flattened rear bumper, but by all accounts the disguised front end hides a new face resembling the lines of the Velar.

According to reports the new Evoque has a widened track and new rear chassis components, but the wheelbase is unchanged. The replacement Evoque model will incorporate JLR’s newest range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel Ingenium engines and a plug-in hybrid version is also likely.

The current Evoque was launched in 2011 and received a facelift for the 2014 model year. The new Evoque is expected to only arrive in 2019, and yes, it will be earmarked for South Africa.

http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/spied-new-land-rover-evoque-challenging-pikes-peak-20171005

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2019 Range Rover Evoque Mk2 to get heavy Velar influence

Smash hit’s successor will arrive in 2019 with improved comfort, more connectivity and JLR's latest engines

Land Rover is just one year away from revealing its second-generation Evoque. The company will tinker little with the current car’s formula and will maintain the distinctive coupé-style shape that helped define a segment.

The current Evoque helped transform the company into the much larger and more successful one it is today. Sales have never dropped below 100,000 units annually, even six years after it was launched.

Prototype versions of the Evoque Mk2 (imagined in production form by Autocar below) are a regular sight around the company’s Gaydon engineering base, and it is understood Land Rover is preparing a reveal of the car in October next year at the Paris motor show, ahead of UK sales in early 2019.

The current Evoque, codenamed L538, has become firmly established since its launch, and design boss Gerry McGovern believes there is no need for the concept to be reinvented, saying it should not “lose key ingredients” and would be designed with the intention of making it “more relevant”. McGovern said that even years after its launch, the Evoque Mk1 – the design of which can be traced as far back as the Land Rover LRX concept car from 2008 – remained a “very distinctive vehicle” that is “known for what it is: falling roof, rising beltline”.

For the next-generation model, McGovern said the task was to “take [the current car’s] integrity and make [it] more relevant”. Land Rover, he added, was looking at “how to make the vehicle more modern, precise, more comfortable, more luxurious, those things – not just pure aesthetics”.

The design is set to draw inspiration from the new Velar, which has already informed the styling changes to the recently revised Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models.

Much of the Velar’s interior technology, including its dual touchscreens in the centre console and wide digital instrument binnacle, will also be introduced on the Evoque, as part of plan to boost the model’s connectivity options.

The evolution of the design will extend to the car’s underpinnings. The next-generation Evoque, codenamed L551, will be built on an overhauled version of the current car’s D8 architecture, which is Jaguar Land Rover’s only natively front-wheel-drive architecture for transverse-engined models. Other developments of D8 are used on the Land Rover Discovery Sport and the Jaguar E-Pace.

Refinements to the D8 underpinnings will focus on improving the ride comfort of the Evoque, and the comfort levels for passengers. The firm has always resisted creating a pure performance version of the Evoque – the model is considered every bit the ‘mini Range Rover’ in terms of luxury and refinement, both areas Land Rover will be looking to improve further with the second-generation car.

There will be no significant increase in size. The model will closely match the footprint of today’s car, which is 4390mm long and 1900mm wide. The wheelbase of 2660mm has been modestly increased to match the E-Pace’s 2681mm. In addition, the track widths have been increased and a redesigned trailing arm suspension set-up will be used at the rear. All of these changes are aimed at improving cabin space for rear passengers.

Land Rover’s suite of new four-cylinder, turbocharged Ingenium petrol and diesel engines, built at its Wolverhampton engine manufacturing plant, will carry over to the new Evoque, each engine a 2.0-litre unit ranging in power output from 148bhp to 237bhp for the diesels, and from 237bhp to 296bhp for the petrols. There will be further improvements to the fuel economy and CO2 emissions of the engines in their application in the second- generation Evoque, aided by the increases in refinement being engineering into the car’s architecture right from the start of development.

Front-wheel drive will be offered on entry-level versions of the new crossover, with all-wheel drive standard higher up the range. The latter is set to take the bulk of sales; most Evoques will sell for about £40,000, well above the expected starting price of around £33,000.

Each engine will be mated to JLR’s ZF-sourced nine- speed automatic gearbox, and Land Rover’s latest off-road technology will be offered to ensure the Evoque is no less capable than any other Land Rover model off road, a ‘credibility’ message the company continually pushes.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2019-range-rover-evoque
 
DRIVEN: Evoque convertible likes to drop its top

When the Range Rover Evoque came to our local market a few years ago, it was an immediate success amongst buyers. And it still is. The design is near timeless and the dimensions compact and, dare I say it, sexy.

So it wasn’t really a shock when the British SUV maker announced that it will put a convertible version of its Evoque into production. In fact, it made most people excited about the prospect of it happening and it sent the internet into a little frenzy every time a picture or bit of news regarding the convertible broke cover. It didn’t matter what info it was, people wanted to read about the forthcoming Evoque convertible.

And in 2016 it finally arrived in South Africa, looking every bit as enticing as the pictures suggested.

Two years on and the Evoque convertible is a common sight on our roads, but still it captures the attention; evoking onlookers to pause for a moment and savor the moment.

Three doors, five seats

The Evoque is available in either three- or five-door guise, but the convertible comes only in three-door. Fortunately, though, the two front seats are operated electronically for ease of use, but do know that a few seconds of your life will be unaccounted for as you wait for the seat to move as far forward as possible. Rear space is not too tight either, but taller passengers may suffer from pins and needles over long distances.

The reason for the limited rear space is because of the retractable cloth roof. The mechanism to open or close it sits between the boot and rear seats and needs its own bit of space for optimal functionality. Limited rear space or not, the SUV’s infotainment system is, in typical Jaguar Land Rover fashion, an easy-to-use application.

The menus on the central touchscreen are big and easy to read and toggling between the settings is both functional and practical.

But the elephant in the room, the cloth roof, is the SUV’s biggest party piece. Retracting or setting up takes under 20 seconds and the control from which one operates the roof is situated on the console between the seats. Hold the button for the duration of the process until a chime sound indicates that the process is complete. But even with the roof up the car loses none of the appeal that draws in the crowd, but of course it looks better with the top down.

There was, however, a bit of a big let-down with the build quality. The panels are well put together, the interior feels solid to the touch, and the seats offer plenty of support. But when the windows are rolled down, it shudders inside the doors when closing it - this was especially evident on the passenger side. It is both unnerving and worrying, because one really does not expect a R1-million vehicle to suffer from this.

Hop that curb

Jaguar announced some time back that they will be producing a new range of 2.0-litre engines called its Ingenium range, and because Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles are built together and share virtually every feature imaginable, it was a logic choice for the Evoque and Evoque convertible to also be driven by these engines. And the Evoque convertible only has one of these engines on offer, the 177kW/340Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre engine.

As is standard, all that power is sent to all four wheels. Land Rover claims that its Range Rover Evoque convertible will return a mere 8.0-litres/100km, but because the car is enticing to drive and has a little addictive exhaust note, it’s safe to say that it will be almost impossible to achieve that.

And this Evoque moves, too! The smooth nine-speed automatic gearbox ticks over every gear in exemplary fashion and will continue to do so onto a claimed top speed of 217km/h. But not before dispatching the 0-100km/h run in 8.1 seconds. Take note, though, that even with its Land Rover heritage the Evoque is not all that suitable to off-road excursions. Gravel roads are fine, but expecting it to do what its siblings (Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport) can do will be a bit of an ask.

It may have ground clearance in access of 200mm, but that’s more for show than anything else. It drives well, as long as you keep it on the tar and the occasional stretch of gravel - not dongas and boulders. When at the mall, feel free to rather explore its off-road capabilities by hopping over a curb and parking where mere mortals in sedans and hatchbacks can only dream of parking.

The Evoque was made for the streets of Sandton, Beach Road down in Camps Bay, Clarence Drive along Gordon’s Bay, morning traffic with the roof down sipping on your favourite brew while road users give you that occasional nod of approval.

You know that this car isn’t the sharpest pencil in the box and that for the same money you could’ve rather opted for a Jaguar F-Pace or the new Land Discovery. But you’d be hard pressed to find an SUV with the same amount of appeal and aura as the Range Rover Evoque convertible.

http://www.wheels24.co.za/NewModels...ue-convertible-likes-to-drop-its-top-20180202
 
Range Rover Evoque three-door axed ahead of second-generation model

New Evoque arrives next year with Velar-derived styling and features, while mild hybrid powertrain is under consideration

Land Rover has cut the three-door Range Rover Evoque from its line-up amid slow sales.

Since the introduction of the cabriolet variant — the third bodystyle of the huge-selling Evoque — the three-door has been the slowest-selling, leading Land Rover to now axe this from sale. Sources suggested that as much as 95% of sales were of the five-door version.

Less practicality-focused buyers now have only the more expensive cabriolet model as an alternative to the five-door Evoque. A Land Rover spokesman said: “From the 2019 model year, Land Rover has rationalised its Range Rover Evoque bodystyle offering to concentrate on the five-door model and convertible, which account for the majority of sales.”

The move to axe the slower-selling variant of one of Jaguar Land Rover's most popular cars likely aims to offset falling sales of volume models; in March alone, sales declined by 7.8% compared with March 2017, with overall sales down 3.8% across the year ended 31 March.

It’s no surprise that the three-door Evoque was discontinued, given the industry’s trend towards more practical five-door cars. Three-door and coupé variants of the Audi A3 and Volkswagen Scirocco have been discontinued in the past 18 months, while several models have been converted to five-door only for their new generation. Jaguar has also recently cut the XE S and XF S from its line-up.

No official word has been given on whether the second-generation Evoque will be available as a three-door, but it's now almost certain that it won't be.

Despite the dominance of the five-door Evoque, a second-generation Evoque Convertible will likely follow the five-door’s introduction for a 2020 launch.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/...three-door-axed-ahead-second-generation-model
 
Land Rover kills off three-door Range Rover Evoque

Land Rover has discontinued the three-door Range Rover Evoque due to lacklustre sales.

“From the 2019 model year, Land Rover has rationalised its Range Rover Evoque body style offering to concentrate on the five-door model and convertible, which account for the majority of sales,” a spokesperson for the Whitley-based brand said, according to Autocar.

The British report added that although Land Rover had yet to indicate whether the upcoming second-generation Evoque would be offered in coupé guise, this latest development suggested it “almost certainly” wouldn’t be.

At the time of writing, the coupé-style version of the Range Rover Evoque was still listed on Land Rover South Africa’s website, accounting for four out of the 17 local derivatives on offer.

In May 2018, Land Rover SA sold 25 examples of the Evoque, although it’s not clear how many of these were in the three-door body style.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news/land-rover-kills-off-three-door-range-rover-evoque/

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