Land Rover Celebrates 50 Years of Range Rover With Style

Published on July 15, 2020 in New Models by Gabriel Gélinas

The virtual press conference hosted by Land Rover began with a video full of historical pictures and a suave British narrator saying things like “Fifty years of mud and glory. Fifty years of shaken, not stirred,” setting the tone for the rest of the presentation.

Launched in 1970, the Range Rover turns 50 this year and the automaker is celebrating this milestone with a number of special editions available with the current selection of engines as well as a new inline six-cylinder diesel with mild hybrid technology or a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

Range Rover Fifty Edition

Of course, Land Rover has a rich tradition of limited or special editions. The new Range Rover Fifty Edition will have a production run of just 1,970 units—a nod to the model’s birth year—with customers being able to choose between regular wheelbase and long wheelbase.

Standard content is mighty impressive since it’s based on the Range Rover Autobiography. “Fifty” badges scripted by Land Rover’s chief designer Gerry McGovern adorn the body, which is available in three exclusive colours only—Bahama Gold, Tuscan Blue and Davos White.

The Range Rover Fifty Edition can be motivated by either a conventional engine or the P400e plug-in hybrid powertrain consisting of a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder, an electric motor and a 13.1-kWh lithium-ion battery. Pricing starts at $164,300 for the regular model or $170,300 for the long-wheelbase variant.

Westminster Edition and Westminster Black Edition

Next up is the Westminster Edition, which features 21-inch split-spoke 'Style 7001' wheels, a panoramic sunroof, soft-close doors, a refrigerated front centre console and a 19-speaker Meridian surround sound system, among other things.

As the name implies, the Westminster Black Edition sports a monochromatic look along with 22-inch wheels. Both models can be specified with a gasoline, diesel or plug-in hybrid powertrain. Pricing ranges from $116,100 to $134,600.

SV Autobiography Dynamic Black Edition

Land Rover describes the SV Autobiography Dynamic Black Edition as “the special one.” Powered by a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 and available exclusively with the regular-wheelbase Range Rover, this special edition combines Santorini Black Metallic paintwork with Narvik Black gloss exterior accents and black brake callipers. It retails for $208,500.

By the way, the Touch Pro Duo infotainment system has been revised with embedded Spotify. Advanced safety and security systems are part of the standard equipment list, one of them being an Ultra-Wide-Bandwidth (UWB) key that prevents keyless thefts.

New Ingenium Diesel Engine Lineup

From a technical perspective, the 2021 Land Rover Range Rover introduces a new family of inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel engines with 48V mild hybrid technology.

The company proudly insists on the fact that these engines are designed and built entirely in the U.K. They are obviously more powerful and more fuel-efficient than their predecessors.

2021 Range Rover Sport

The smaller, more athletic Land Rover Range Rover Sport gets three special editions of its own, plus the new six-cylinder diesel and enhanced infotainment system.

The HSE Silver Edition and HSE Dynamic Black Edition feature 21-inch split-spoke Gloss Black alloy wheels with a Diamond Turned finish, a panoramic sunroof and a 19-speaker Meridian premium sound system. The former is available in seven body colours, while the latter comes exclusively in black on the exterior and interior. Both can be powered by the new diesel engine or the P400e plug-in hybrid powertrain.

At the top of the range is a new SVR Carbon Edition, which sports an exposed carbon fibre hood centre section, front bumper insert surrounds, main grille and vent surrounds, as well as many other carbon fibre exterior details. The supercharged 5.0-litre V8 is part of the mix, too.

Pricing for the 2021 Range Rover Sport ranges from $82,200 to $155,500.

With all of these special editions celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Range Rover, the British manufacturer aims to boost interest in its iconic 4x4 at a time when luxury SUVs keep popping up across the industry. We just wish the brand could improve its reliability scores—it finished dead last in the 2020 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study.

The new 2021 Land Rover Range Rover and Range Rover Sport will arrive at Canadian dealers this October.