The Discovery Vision Concept, a vehicle that promises to offer a bold statement about Land Rover’s future direction in the SUV market, will be officially revealed on April 16.
Promising something thoroughly modern that adheres to the company’s principles of emotive design, versatility and capability, the concept vehicle will also showcase a raft of new user-focused technologies that will soon be making their way across the company’s vehicle range.
The Land Rover Discovery celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and is probably the car that saved the company from irrelevance when it first launched. Perfectly plugging the gap between the Defender — the serious off-roading workhorse favored by farmers, explorers and the military — and the high-spec luxury Range Rover. The Discovery was an instant hit.
As Gerry McGovern, Design Director and Chief Creative Officer for Land Rover, commented: “Discovery has been pivotal in helping to build the foundations of the Land Rover brand. It is admired all over the world and loved by its strong customer base. We have created the Vision Concept to share the essence of Land Rover’s new age of Discovery and to debut a new, compelling, relevant design direction that connects on an emotional level with customers of today and tomorrow.”
However, the Vision Concept is expected to morph into more than simply the next-gen Discovery. Just as it has done with the Range Rover brand creating a three model range — the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque — Land Rover has made it clear that it believes the Discovery brand is also strong and individual enough to become the halo product in a larger range of up to three vehicles too.
Most motoring journalists agree that the next Freelander, the company’s small but capable family SUV, will become the first addition to the Discovery brand when the next generation model is revealed, potentially in New York.
