You may remember that last time our spies caught up with the Land Rover Freelander’s (called LR2 in North America) replacement, the British carmaker was evaluating a test mule outfitted with an extended length body of the Range Rover Evoque. Now, Land Rover has churned out a regular prototype with the production body of its upcoming SUV.
You’ll still find the Evoque’s steel chassis sitting underneath, albeit with an extended wheelbase that will be at least 150mm (5.9 inches) longer. While heavily camouflaged, it appears that the styling of the Freelander’s replacement will fuse details from the Evoque and the latest Discovery and Range Rover models.
Land Rover will offer the car in both five- and seven seater variants.
It is believed that upon launch, towards the end of 2014 or early 2015, the new model will share its powertrain lineup with the Evoque, offering four-cylinder turbocharged diesel and gasoline units, front or all-wheel drive and available nine-speed automatic transmissions, before gaining a new generation of four-pots that will be built at the brand’s new plant in Wolverhampton.
There’s still some confusion regarding the name as recent reports stated that Land Rover plans to discard the Freelander moniker and incorporate the new SUV into its Discovery series. Whether Land Rover will continue to use the LR2 nameplate in North America, remains to be seen.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
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