Land Rover Discovery family set to grow

THE Land Rover Discovery is set to spawn its own family of models within the luxury SUV specialist’s line-up, according to design boss Gerry McGovern.

While the Discovery Sport, unveiled in full this week at the Paris Motor Show and bearing a "5+2" seven-seat configuration despite its meagre 4.6-metre length, is to be the second member of Land Rover's Discovery range, McGovern confirmed it will form one of three families within the brand - Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery and Land Rover Defender.

Within the new Discovery family, there will be more than two models.

"You're not a family if there's only two," McGovern told Wheels, hinting that there could soon be a smaller model than the Discovery Sport, and even potentially one wearing the Range Rover name.

"Within our complete range I think that there is the potential for sub-compacts" he said.

"Why couldn't you do a very expensive, incredibly luxurious sub-compact ... even Range Rover, Evoque - down from that. That is something we are considering."

While details of how the third Discovery model will slot into the line-up remains a mystery, a replacement for the current seven-seat, stepped-roof Discovery is certain.

"The biggest pointer is, you saw the [Vision] concept vehicle,” McGovern said, referring to a design study for a potential Discovery 4 replacement unveiled ahead of the New York Motor Show earlier this year.

“That, in terms of its size, is much closer in size to the current Discovery, so that's where you should take you pointers from for the next generation,” he said.

While whatever the new model is will share much of the new Discovery Sport’s DNA, the Discovery 4 replacement potentially won't lose the quirkiness that has earned numerous design awards.

"It probably will have to have a stepped roof, because the big difference between the Discovery and the bigger Discovery is an optimised seven-seater," McGovern said.

Land Rover Discovery