The fourth member of the Range Rover family has arrived. The Range Rover Velar in on sale now. We attended the media launch this last week in Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
It was not just a media launch – it was an amazing fun filled lifestyle experience from the moment we touched down at the Cape Town International Airport.
We were shuttled together with other African Media representatives to Stellenbosch for a great art gallery tour experience at the Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden.
The nicely done art pieces at the Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden
A perfect moment and views for pics. Hehehehe
After the tour, we landed in a cave (yes a cave), where we got to be fed info about the new Range Rover Velar. Oh lord this car is heavenly!!
Our dinner set up. The weather was unpredictable as always. We went from cold to sunshine to rain and back to cold all in one day. The heaters came in handy.
Lol, most of us spent time watching this amazing work of art. Even when the rain was pouring down, we just couldn’t stop.
After dinner we were transferred to L’Ermitage Chateau and Villas in Franschhoek where we were booked. The Villas are stunning. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to take pics of my room but let me tell you, it was breath taking. A whole huge villa to myself with a beautiful kitchen, huge lounge, and a WOW bathroom and bedroom. The bathroom had a bath tub right next to my bed and a shower. I am going back to that place just for control.
My villa was so big that I felt like I was in a world of my own with nothing near me. Very peaceful too, I slept like a baby. The next morning after a shower I decided to peep through the window to check the weather and saw the most amazing view. A river and mountains. STUNNING!
After breakfast, we got briefed and it was time for the Velar drive Experience. My driving partner, Olive Gachara from Kenya. She owns the first East African fashion Magazine called Couture Africa. I had chat with her and I will share it with you soon on the blog.
Ok, let’s talk about the Velar, which is now available on sale.
- A new addition to the Range Rover family, filling the space between the Range Rover Evoque and the Range Rover Sport
- A mid-size luxury SUV that delivers new levels of refinement, modernity and technology
The Range Rover Velar brings a new dimension of presence, modernity and minimalist design to the Range Rover family. Designed to fit between the Range Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport, the Velar offers levels of luxury, refinement and all-terrain capability never before seen in the mid-size SUV segment. This is a new type of Range Rover for a new type of customer.
Created from a clean sheet using Jaguar Land Rover’s Lightweight Aluminium Architecture, the Velar represents the next chapter of the Range Rover success story as Britain’s biggest luxury export. Velar is defined by a visually reductive approach and meticulous attention to precision in every detail, which evolves Range Rover DNA and previews the next generation of Range Rover vehicles.
Pic by Francois Lottering
Velar’s design is beautifully balanced, from its powerful proportions to its continuous waist line through to the taut tapered lines of the rear. The generous wheelbase contributes significantly to its elegance while helping to provide a spacious interior. The large alloy wheels – in particular the range of 22-inch designs – optimise the vehicle’s stunning silhouette, while further enhancing Velar’s dramatic presence.
Gerry McGovern, Chief Design Officer, Land Rover said: “Velar is now the compelling, stand-out design in the class, showcasing perfectly optimised volume, powerful, taut surfaces and a stunning silhouette.”
Advanced technology is pivotal to enabling Velar’s contemporary design: the full-LED headlights are the most-slender ever to appear on a production Land Rover. The flush deployable door handles emphasise Velar’s reductive, sculptured form, and contribute to the low drag coefficient of only 0.32 – this is the most aerodynamically-efficient Land Rover ever produced.
Look inside Velar’s interior and you will see elegant simplicity, sophistication and refinement. An unwavering belief in reductionism has been fully employed, with switches being kept to an absolute minimum to help create a calm sanctuary.
The Velar features a sophisticated all-wheel drive system, four-corner air suspension, class-leading ground clearance of 251mm (213mm when equipped with coil springs), class-leading wading depth of 650mm (600mm when equipped with coil springs) and Land Rover’s unmatched suite of traction technologies including Terrain Response 2 and All Terrain Progress Control. The Velar – like all Range Rovers – offers world-class all-terrain capability.
Exceptional performance and efficiency comes from the range of four petrol and diesel powertrains, all matched to smooth-shifting ZF eight-speed automatic transmissions and all-wheel drive with Intelligent Driveline Dynamics.
Clean, refined Ingenium engines are offered in Velar, in both diesel and petrol form. A 2.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine produces 132kW and 430Nm, with CO2 emissions of just 142g/km. Two petrol Ingenium four-cylinder engines are also available in Velar, with outputs of 184kW and 365Nm, and 221kW and 400Nm.
The V6 diesel combines an extraordinary 700Nm of torque for effortless acceleration and off-road capability with CO2 emissions of only 167g/km. The 280kW supercharged V6 petrol engine combines exhilarating performance with a unique soundtrack and enables the Velar to reach 100km/h in only 5.7 seconds, before reaching an electronically-limited top speed of 250km/h.
The Velar and Velar R-Dynamic range comprise Standard, S, SE and HSE specifications. Customers can also specify Black and Premium exterior packs for an even more distinguished appearance. Customers can build their own Velar using the configurator on their market’s Land Rover website. All new Land Rover vehicles come with the Land Rover Five-Year Care Plan: a five-year/100 000km service plan, a five-year/100 000km maintenance plan and a five-year/100 000km warranty, as standard.
Pic by Francois Lottering
We drove all the way pushing through the beautiful mountains, gravel roads and wine farms. Stellenbosch is the home for all things wine.
Clean and clear roads just the way I prefer. On the right………GRAPES!! For your wine. There is no off season. LMAO
We touched down at this spot for launch. This place was another breath of fresh air. SNOW WHITE thangs.
Posing here with the man himself, Francois Lottering from iMedia Namibia. The pictures this man takes blew me away. You can check out his work on www.iMediaNamibia.com. I think I have found a Photographer for my wedding. Hehehehe
Some of the Media representing in full force. We explored together, posed for pics and photo-bombed each other’s pics as well. Thank you Carole, Olive and Trevor from Kenya. Eve Fidele from Mauritius, Faustin Koua from Côte d’Ivoire, Djibril Diede and Mamadou Awa Ndiaye representing Senegal. It was a great pleasure meeting y’all. AFRICA!!!
This was an unforgettable experience for some of us driving around Stellenbosch and Cape Town in our Range Rovers. Thank you to the entire Land Rover family/team for making us a part of this, Nicola Clarke, Pierre Verfeld, Jean-Pierre Versfeld, Njabulo Mngomezulu, Wynand Bohnen, Jess Karandis and Maricka Jansen. Thank you!
The Range Rover Velar has officially launched in Africa. Check your bank account and head to your nearest Land Rover dealer. #SignatureStyle
@KikiMarli