How many doors does the range-topping Range Rover have? If you answered four (or five with the tailgate), you’re probably thinking of the current model and most of its progenitors. But that wasn’t always the case, and it might just change in the future.
Speaking with Land Rover design chief Gerry McGovern at the LA Auto Show recently, Motoring reports that a two/three-door Range Rover could be in the works.
“There’s probably less market for a two-door [Evoque], and given that we have a cabriolet there’s no need,” said McGovern. “But as we get bigger you can think about going two-door because it becomes more exclusive, which might give you a hint.”
In between the lines, what we can read into that is that JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations division could coach-build an exclusive Range Rover coupe, based on the flagship model – not on the (relatively) lower-end Range Rover Sport, Velar, or Evoque (the two/three-door version of which is being discontinued).
“The good thing with SVO is it is a self-funding business, so there are opportunities within SVO that don’t necessarily have to be mainstream and small volume [vehicles] lend itself beautifully to that,” McGovern told Motoring.
It wouldn’t be the first case, after all. The first-generation Range Rover originally debuted in 1970 as a two-door. The four-door didn’t come out until 1981, with the two-door being phased out in 1994.
As Motor Trend points out, Land Rover showcased a two-door concept called the Range Stormer that’s pictured here in 2004. It styling previewed the original Range Rover Sport that surfaced later the same year, but the concept featured two doors instead of the four of the production model.
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