Range Rover SV Coupe

Looks good apart from the dodgy grill. I'm looking forward to the commercial version which they will inevitably charge more for. 23" wheels!

Perhaps they could add a half track version, with a gun rack........

Yes, canned. Various theories have been suggested -  

They couldn't get 999 orders - the Cullinan and Bentgayer have shot RR's fox.  
And even at £240k would this have been profitable?
SVO have been told to focus their efforts on the core models and not more willy-waving projects. XE Project 8 is cited as evidence.......
JLR don't have the spare cash to upfront the costs of this now that the core business needs a good kick up the arse. 

I suspect the truth is a combination of all theories.....

Got to admit the Project 8 and other SV projects remind me of the dying days of MG Rover and their V8 and sports car which I think was also called the SV.

Sadly, I thought the same thing. Too much effort, time and money spent on silly projects and not enough on the basics of a good business. I really hope JLR can turn things around. 

I think the MG SV showed all that was wrong with the "Phoenix Four". They wanted as much for themselves and weren't too worried about the business.
They should have been focussing on a high-selling family car not an exotic V8 saloon/estate with very limited sales appeal. Of course the V8 gave them all very nice, fast company cars for themselves.....

I think they should also have been looking to do a deal with Chrysler to badge the 300C as a Rover, go give them presence in the Executive marketplace for minimal outlay, am sure it would have sold in much higher numbers as a Rover than as a Chrysler plus there would have been more sales and servicing/support outlets too.

Never mind, it's too late to re-write history

Especially when Mercedes have shown them how to do it with the G class re-boot. Make it look exactly like a Defender, only a bit bigger with modern underpinnings and watch the money roll in.

^
I suspect that one issue with the new Defender will be that it's been pushed up-market, like every other JLR vehicle.
I think they should have stuck to one of the "squarer" concepts that was in the magazines a good few years ago, a basic and simple main structure with the possibility of adding different rears (pick-up, closed 3-door, platform, bare chassis on which other companies could base custom bodywork etc).

They may have been out of the market for too long for people to remember what a Defender can do, or alternatively it may be a ploy to move upmarket and (mistakenly) leave memories of the old Defender behind

To me, they missed two golden opportunities to replace the Defender. The Defender used a modified RR Classic chassis (which is why it was such a change from the 90/110 that preceded it). When the RR Classic went out of production, they could have used the same chassis, kept the bulkhead, front doors and crash cans (so they could have fitted airbags) and made a Defender look-a-like body. And they could have done exactly the same when the Disco 2 went out of production. Simples. 

But they didn't and as said, spent 15 years buggering about. But finally something is slated to come out later this year. They look like they are going to follow a lot of scouses thoughts. Especially the bit where they charge more. After all, the G class starts from £94k in the UK!

I guess in reality there was a key decision point in the process of replacing the Defender.  And I expect there was an awful lot of internal JLR debate about the approach. To a lot of people the Defender was a basic vehicle (in design, build and technology terms) that was tough with it. So to them the new one should be a competitor in that same market again. Or should the Defender now become like the G class - more luxurious inside (with a higher price) yet retaining its off road ability and charisma. I doubt the maths would ever have worked out in the former market, so it will be a Merc X Class or G class type vehicle. In theory a replacement for the Disco 3. Or a Toyota Land Cruiser. After all, a 3 door Land Cruiser in mid spec is £40k. The sort of figures being talked about for the new Defender. 

I'm sure Pete will (rightly) be shaking his head as armchair experts like me pontificating about this but I still don't know why they never did an XE estate. Even a concept to test the water, stick the V8 in that and you've got a cult hero.

Surely any demand for an XE estate is amply covered by the XF estate?

JLR is not BMW or VW.

BMW sells 400,000 3 series a year, JLR sells 20000? XEs. Even assuming it could convert 20% of those sales to estates you are talking, what, 4000 XE estates? How many would be V8s, possibly 10% being optimistic. That’s before you get into XE estates cannibalising XF estate sales, another model you could argue JLR has no business case to build due to low numbers.

Not really, SUVs are a growing segment and Jaguar has decided the sales predictions warrant the E Pace and F Pace so they are represented at the two different size and price points.


www.autocar.co.uk/opinion/new-cars/opinion-jaguar-sales-figures-show-suvs-are-future

The ongoing diesel issues and the relatively poor showing of the E Pace may yet determine this was not the right strategy. For me the E Pace should be what it sounds - some sort of electric or hybrid model.

Customers going into a JLR dealership with an XE Estate in mind can be steered in the direction of an XF Estate, for probably not much more money, or an E Pace. The few that would decide that neither option is for them are probably not worth the expense of developing an XE estate.