Sadly for Land Rover fans, most of Jaguar Land Rover’s time at Frankfurt was given over to Jaguar’s new F-Pace SUV that was making its debut there. Built alongside Range Rovers at Solihull, the F-Pace is an impressive vehicle for a starting price in the UK of £34,000, and may well catch the eye of customers of its Green Oval sibling. Jaguar cannibalising the sales of its sister company could be a real issue.
Design Director Gerry McGovern revealed a new Discovery Sport derivative – the HSE Dynamic Lux that includes Adaptive Dynamics and MagneRide active dampers – as well as confirming that the Evoque Convertible will be unveiled before the end of 2015.
Elsewhere at Frankfurt, Startech stayed true to form, some excitement in the shape of a pick-up version of the Range Rover presented in a striking orange finish. Startech also showed a Defender concept and even had a go at brightening up the Discovery Sport. Nearby Mansory was showing a two-tone matt and gloss Range Rover.
But, four years after Land Rover’s controversial DC100 concept vehicle, the only new concept on show was a pedal car. Albeit a very nice one!
Afterword…
With the Jaguar Land Rover stand at Frankfurt populated by men in Hugo Boss suits, sporting designer eyewear and talking in German, it felt like the clock had been turned back to the days when BMW owned the company. It felt even more like it when the CEO Dr Ralf Speth started describing JLR’s latest technology as being like a ‘discreet British butler’ – albeit one with twice the processing power of a Boeing airliner, apparently.
