Range Rover Velar – Land Rover’s Jaguar F-Pace – WILL debut in Geneva

The Range Rover Velar, a Land Rover take on the Jaguar F-Pace, will debut at the Geneva Motor Show as Land Rover’s first proper road-focussed SUV.

We revealed the almost imminent arrival of the Range Rover Velar back in November, as Land Rover seek to compete with trendy, road-focussed, coupe SUVs.

Now, as far as we can tell after talking to those who should know, it will be called the Range Rover Velar (a nod to the original RR codename) and it will debut at the Geneva Motor Show.

The aim is to deliver a Velar which sits between the Evoque and Range Rover Sport in size, has the dynamics of a Porsche Macan and can get buyers opening their wallets like a Mercedes GLE Coupe or BMW X6 manages (or, for that matter, the Macan). 

It’s been a long journey for the Velar from the original idea of a stretched Evoque XL, but that’s crystallized in to a Land Rover take on the rather appealing Jaguar F-Pace to deliver the most sporty SUV to date from Land Rover.

What sits under the skin will be the most interesting, because although the Velar will have to be off-road capable (it would be unthinkable for a Land Rover to be a proper soft-roader, although the Evoque FWD comes close) it almost certainly won’t have the real off-road technology its larger siblings boast.

The Velar is also going to come with Land Rover’s new 2.0 litre Ingenium engines and the new in-line Ingenium sixes too (we hope JLR don’t do what they did with the Discovery Sport and use the ‘old’ engines for the first few months, building in obsolescence) and maybe, if the rumours are right, Land Rovers new BMW V8 and a plug-in hybrid. 

Not all engine options will arrive at launch, a V8 and hybrid are probably some way down the line, and all models will be 4WD.

With the Geneva Motor Show just a month away official details on the Velar will soon be forthcoming.