Next-Generation Range Rover Due in 2012

Just the Facts:

• A replacement for Land Rover's flagship Range Rover is due next year.
• The current design will be 10 years old in 2012.
• The next Range Rover will borrow styling cues from the smaller Evoque.

LONDON — A replacement for Land Rover's flagship Range Rover is due next year, when the current design will be 10 years old. As part of a major overhaul, the fourth-generation model will move even further upmarket than today's Range Rover.

Company sources tell Inside Line the next-generation Range Rover will soften its traditional boxy look and borrow styling cues from the recently launched Evoque.

Expect the Range Rover's 2012 successor to retain the "floating" roof, but the parallel lines that make up the upper and lower side window lines will converge, as they do on the Evoque. One insider also says the windshield will be "faster" — in other words, a bit more raked.

Also look for higher base pricing, and a design and platform that can stretch to far higher levels, with conviction, than today — potentially up to $200,000 or more.

In the U.S., the current Range Rover is priced from around $80,000, with the top-of-the-line Autobiography edition fetching as much as $130,000 with custom paint and other accessories.

Inside Line says: Land Rover executives are quite aware of Bentley's plans to launch a premium SUV off the Cayenne/Touareg platform, and plan to be ready for it.

Next-Generation Range Rover Due in 2012