Next-generation Land Rover Range Rover photos leaked

Land Rover has not been one to radically remake the Range Rover with any great haste. The first-generation ute was in production for 26 years, subject only to incremental improvements. The current vehicle, developed during BMW's stewardship of the brand in the 1990s and early aughts, saw a midcycle engine switch from a Munich-bred bent-eight to Jaguar's well-regarded AJ powerplant.

In an age of carlike luxury utes, the Range Rover feels like a wonderful anachronism. Big, airy and comfortable; trucklike in the best sense of the word.

But while it's been churning out the boxy behemoths, the Range Rover group was also hard at work on the Evoque, which is quite possibly the best small crossover on the market today. It didn't make our Best of the Best list on its dramatic looks alone.

Apparently, the success of its upmarket utelet has led Land Rover to think that brand cohesion requires ditching the Range Rover's 42-year-old snub nose for something a bit more rakish, as seen in these leaked images of the 2013 flagship.

The tall greenhouse remains, which should be wonderful from an interior-visibility standpoint, but we can't help thinking that these two flavors don't work quite as well together as Land Rover had hoped.

What think ye? The comments section is below. Have at it.

By Davey G. Johnson