2013 Range Rover snapped barely disguised UPDATED

Just ahead of a debut at the Paris Motor Show, the 2013 Range Rover is running round the UK barely disguised.

Update: Looks like the 2013 Range Rover may be debuting at the Moscow Motor Show on 27th August, a month before Paris (see comments below).

Yes, we’ve had the first photo of the 2013 Range Rover.

But it was a poor photo and we had to take it down after talking to Land Rover. But the shot above (it’s the new Range Rover with a 4.4 litre diesel V8) probably shows more clearly that the new Range Rover is an evolution of the current, now ten years old, Range Rover – at least cosmetically.

There was no point Land Rover trying to do what Jaguar did with the XJ and re-invent its style from homage/pastiche to revolutionary. The old XJ had stopped selling in significant numbers and a big change was a must. The Range Rover, however, still dominates its marketplace.

So the revolution for the new Range Rover is all under the skin, with a new platform based on the aforementioned XJ and conquering the current Range Rover’s Achilles heel in one fell swoop – enormous weight.

That drop in weight will turn the 2013 Range Rover in to a luxury SUV that isn’t just the best 4×4 by far, but one of the most dynamic. Said to be comparable to the X5 and Cayenne on-road – but with the luxury of a Bentley and the ability to climb mountains – the new Range Rover looks set to dominate its niche even more convincingly than the current Range Rover.

The wait is almost over for the 2013 Rangie; official reveal is at Paris next month, but don’t be surprised to get a detailed reveal ahead of that.