Land Rover to launch exclusive 2-door SUV for niche customers

Land Rover is considering another entry for the super-luxury SUV market – an exclusive two-door Range Rover coupé, designed by its Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) group.

In an interaction with motoring.com.au, Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern said, ''Watch this space. I can't say when or what; but there are opportunities. We have proven with Range Rover that there are opportunities to offer derivations of these vehicles, to offer them as a way to bring something new to the market.''

Giving credence to the news is the fact that the brand patented the 'Range Stormer' name earlier this year. The original Range Stormer was a concept revealed at the Detroit Motor Show in early 2004, although that version was more of a preview of the Range Rover Sport that went into production later that year.

Range Rover already has two-door models in its line-up – the Evoque is sold in two-door form abroad, while the original Range Rover was originally built as a two-door model.

Land Rover has a history of two-door models. It currently sells the two-door Range Rover Evoque and Evoque Convertible, while the original Range Rover was produced in two-door form. There was also the limited-edition Range Rover CSK, which paid tribute to Charles Spencer King, the car's original designer.

McGovern alluded to SVO's involvement in the project, saying: ''The good thing with SVO is that it's a self-funding business, so there are opportunities within SVO that don't necessarily have to be mainstream and small-volume [vehicles] lend themselves beautifully to that. A limited-edition model that pays for itself is far easier to create a business case for.''

Furthering the exclusivity aspect of the model, McGovern alluded to two-door models' now relatively small number compared with their five-door counterparts as the car industry moves away from less practical and slower-selling two-doors.

A two-door Range Rover would certainly be exclusive - the super-luxury SUV market currently contains no two-door cars, while the recently introduced Lamborghini Urus resembling a coupé the closest, despite having five doors. The Bentley Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan both have five doors, while no specifics are yet known about the upcoming Ferrari SUV, Autocar reports.

The new model would likely sit atop the Range Rover line-up, higher even than the extended-wheelbase Range Rover SVAutobiography, which tops out the range at £167,850. The exclusivity of the Range Stormer could push the model's price tag to £200,000 or beyond.