In their early days, if anyone had ever suggested that Land Rover would one day introduce a two-door sports coupe, then the famous British stiff upper lip would certainly have started to quiver. Yet with so many changes having taken place in the way that this long running bastion of the UK car manufacturing industry now operates under the ownership of the Tata Group of India, anything is indeed possible.
Just to prove that point, Land Rover have recently introduced a coupe ve... (full review continues below)
In their early days, if anyone had ever suggested that Land Rover would one day introduce a two-door sports coupe, then the famous British stiff upper lip would certainly have started to quiver. Yet with so many changes having taken place in the way that this long running bastion of the UK car manufacturing industry now operates under the ownership of the Tata Group of India, anything is indeed possible.
Just to prove that point, Land Rover have recently introduced a coupe version of their Evoque SUV, which first shocked the motoring world when it made its debut at the Detroit Motor Show of 2008. The Land Rover Coupe was released in the summer of 2011, since then it has been the recipient of over ninety international awards.
It's easy to understand why, because the Land Rover Evoque Coupe really is an outstanding car. Outstanding in many ways, in terms of its vital statistics, at 171 long on a 105 inch wheelbase, in terms of its outstanding appearance with the now typical Evoque front end, characterized by its short almost domed hood, sweeping over its HID headlights and distinctively designed metal grille.
The truth is that if you were to approach the ?poque front on, you would assume that you were looking at another SUV. It's only when you get the side angle view do you realise that this is a Land Rover Coupe you are looking at. Fronts its front windshield backwards, the Coupe's roof tapers down dramatically reaching what a number of reviewers have, not unfairly described, as the smallest rear window in the World. Other dramatic design features that Land Rover threw in for good measure are wheel arches exaggerated as they can be without becoming bizarre, with magnificent designed twenty inch alloy wheels. Like the other members of the Evoque stable, the Coupe sits eleven inches of the ground and looks more prepared than any other coupe on the road today to handle even the toughest of driving conditions.
And if you are looking for power in your coupe, the Evoque has more than enough of that on offer, Under its hood awaits a direct injection, turbo charged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine capable of producing 240 horsepower paired with a six speed manual gear box. Tata have indulged Coupe buyers with the now famous handshake gear stick, which comes out to greet the driver as soon as the ignition is switched on.