This is the car that Victoria Beckham helped to design. Or at least that's what one might think from the media stories surrounding Range Rover's new 'size zero' model and the 'size zero' celebrity who launched it, to the snap of the paps' cameras.
In fact, I can reveal that Mrs Beckham had as much to do with the comely new Range Rover Evoque as she does with the extra-time penalty taking strategy of the LA Galaxy football team. As far as I know, her only car design work to date was to specify bespoke 'David and Victoria' embroidery on the rear seat of the couple's Bentley Continental GT, several years ago.
Nonetheless, Mrs B is to be "a Range Rover design consultant". Regular visits to the company's high-tech design facility near Warwick are planned — and the expectation is that she will contribute bold colours and imaginative fabrics to possible new limited edition variants of the Evoque. Those in the fashion know, among them Vogue's editor, feel Posh Spice can add value to Range Rover, especially in important markets such as Russia, the Middle East, China and Japan, where Brand Beckham is not quite so ubiquitous as it is in Beckhamed-out Britain.
Still, using Mrs B as a design consultant is a huge departure for the 4x4 maker. Its designers and engineers have more traditionally worn anoraks and chunky boots rather than — as Posh did at the Evoque's London unveiling — a "nude asymmetric drape neck dress from her Autumn/Winter 2010 range". Mind you, design director Gerry McGovern, responsible for the Evoque, has already broken the company's sartorial mould by being a regular in Savile Row. He is noted for his sharp Henry Poole and Huntsman suits.
The Evoque is a major departure for Range Rover in other ways. At its launch, it was shown as a coupé only (a five-door will also be offered when deliveries commence in mid-2011). It is small, barely longer than a Ford Focus. It has rakish, not boxy, styling. It comes with a two-wheel drive (non 4x4) version, the first Range Rover to do so. It is fuel frugal: the most economical version delivers similar consumption to small hatches. And, as Victoria Beckham's endorsement makes clear, it is designed more for Wilshire Boulevard than Wiltshire pig farmers.
And yet — and this is the genius of McGovern's eye-catching design — it actually looks like a Range Rover, albeit a smaller one. It has many long-standing Range Rover design hallmarks, including the 'floating' roof caused by the black roof pillars, and the wrap-over 'clamshell' bonnet. It has lots of ground clearance, long wheel travel and small front and rear overhangs to improve off-road driving (and the more trad-minded Range Rover engineers will cheerfully admit that the off-road ability of the pretty boy 4x4 Evoque is surprisingly good). The rear seat has generous head room, for the 'head nod' that comes from rough road driving.
Nor does small mean cheap. The starting price will be about £30,000, rising to well over £40,000 when plusher trim and higher performance engines are specified. Soft-touch leather, wood and aluminium finishes are offered, and the in-car entertainment is said to be as good as premium home hi-fi. Even in its cheapest guise, the cabin feels upmarket. You're sitting in a luxury car, not a typical small SUV, as evinced by the double stitched faux suede upholstery (made from recycled plastic drinks bottles).
So it feels and looks posh. Even if, so far, Posh has had nothing to do with the design.
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