OPEN SEASON
The new Range Rover Evoque Convertible turns out to be every bit as much of a trail-blazing pioneer as its distant ancestor of 68 years ago By Charles Armstrong-Wilson
ave you ever had an anxiety dream? You know the sort
H of thing; waiting with
a group of friends to be shown to your table at a particularly smart London restaurant, suddenly you realise the place has gone quiet and everyone is staring. Looking down, everything seems to be in order, your outfit is impeccable, but suddenly you spot it. For some unaccountable reason you are wearing wellingtons. This is the point where you wake up with a start, gripped by the embarrassment of the faux pas.
Apart from the extremes of hipster culture, wellingtons are not usually worn in smart metropolitan restaurants. There was a time when pretty much the same thing could be said about 4x4 vehicles. They belonged in the Shires; not in the city. But times have changed, as have off roaders.
When Rover cars unveiled its Land Rover in 1948, it was a purely utilitarian development of a military vehicle. Everyone from farmers to the armed forces, construction workers to emergency services lapped them up. But with its canvas tilt and no-nonsense design, it was utterly alien to urban domesticity.
Well, until 1970 when Land Rover reinvented the breed with its civilised and sophisticated Range Rover. Soberly designed, but comfortably appointed, it was accepted in the smartest of places. Five years ago, the company changed the rules again, adding design to practicality with the groundbreaking Range Rover Evoque. Now, undaunted by convention, Land Rover has pushed the concept even further by releasing the first factory Range Rover Convertible.
So, they’ ve chopped the roof off the Evoque. Big deal. What’ s so clever about
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