Land Rover is set to embark on a massive and admittedly ambitious expansion the likes of which we haven't seen from the British SUV maker. The company's Range Rover brand has always been its meal ticket, but there's a good chance that it might soon share honors with the Discovery and Defender models, each of which is set to expand into its own family of models.
Car Magazine is reporting that that Land Rover is laying the groundwork to create a separate line of models for the Discovery and the Defender, effectively creating three sub-families under the Land Rover name. The British magazine discussed this development with Land Rover's design director and chief creative officer, Gerry McGovern. According to McGovern, Land Rover is aligning its brands to create three separate families - Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender - with each family having one standout characteristic.
The Range Rover will be a luxury sub-brand, that was established a long time ago. The Discovery, however, will be all about "Leisure," something Land Rover began with the arrival of the sportier-than-usual Discovery Sport, which is apparently taking the place of the Freelander. Discussions within the company are also on-going regarding the development of the fifth-generation Discovery that was showcased in preview guise by the Discovery Vision Concept at the 2014 New York Auto Show.
Land Rover will also work on differentiating the Range Rover models from the Discovery models.
Then there's the Defender. McGowan described it as the dual-purpose sub-brand that will be markedly different from the Range and Discovery brands. Don't expect the new lineup of Defenders to be similar in aesthetics to its brothers, as these models will retain the same utilitarian character best associated with the roots of Land Rover. McGown specifically pointed to the importance of having multiple Defender models, largely because it's the brand that will cater to traditional fans of Land Rover.
"The Defender is about durability," McGowan told Car. "You kick the hell out of them and they get up for more."
Click past the jump to read more about Land Rover's future plans.
Land Rover Details its Future Lineup originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 11 September 2014 17:00 EST.
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