Range Rover designers talk tactics [w/Video]

Range Rover designers and engineers have come together in a short video to discuss the reasons and influences behind their decisions when it came to designing the brand's fourth-generation flagship SUV.

Developing a new Range Rover is always going to a difficult job, given its status as the world's best 4x4 and its avid fan base, and in this video we get a chance to hear from the people who influenced this latest model.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover Design Director and Chief Creative Officer, explains: "Great design is the gateway to customer desirability, it's about making that personal connection. People say ‘well, what is the inspiration for the new Range Rover?' It's its heritage. And if you look at that original vehicle and then look at the vehicle we have today, that lineage is clear."

Advanced Designer James Watkins adds that it was a case of building on the strengths of the old model while giving the new Range Rover its own personality. No contrived, superficial elements were added to the exterior, merely three main lines that emphasize the car's volumes. 

Internally, luxury materials and the panoramic roof were designed to highlight the clean, spacious feeling of the cabin. The number of controls was also reduced for the same purpose, with the designers aiming to live up to their customers' challenge: "don't change it – make it better."

By Rufus Thompson