Ultimate luxury: 2014 long wheelbase Range Rover revealed

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  If you ever thought the Range Rover was a touch cramped in the back, you’re in luck. Land Rover has unveiled the first long wheelbase Range Rover for 20 years, adding even more comfort and space to the already lavish off-roader. Alongside this, it’s also confirmed a new 'exclusive specification' for the line-up – the Range Rover Autobiography Black. The long wheelbase Range Rover L, as we’ve taken to calling it, goes on sale in March 2014, with the Black hitting showrooms later on in August next year



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 Even with the fully reclining business class seat option, we can’t imagine needing more space than in the current Range Rover. Nevertheless, Land Rover has inserted nearly 300mm extra into the regular car’s 4.92-metre wheelbase, giving rear seat passengers 140mm more legroom.
Along with adding more space for your lower limbs, the British manufacturer has also increased the reclining angle of the back seats to 17 degrees – up from 9 degrees in the ‘normal’ Range Rover. It should also be more relaxed back there if buyers choose to option the new executive seating package, giving customers 'enhanced comfort and space'. Because it really needed it

 The same range of engines will power the extended version of the Range Rover, including two turbodiesels and one petrol option. For the diesels, that means a choice between the firm’s 258hp 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel and the 339hp 4.4-litre V8 turbodiesel, while the ridiculously powerful 510hp supercharged V8 is the only petrol on offer
While Land Rover hasn’t released any official performance information for its stretched Range, adding that extra metal (and therefore weight) to the bodyshell has to dull performance a touch. The standard petrol V8 sprints from 0-62mph (100kph) in an impressive 5.1 seconds, while the entry-level turbodiesel completes the same benchmark sprint in 7.4 seconds. Expect to add anywhere between 0.2 and 0.5 seconds to those times for the extended version

 It will probably be a similar story when it comes to efficiency, with the extra mass just denting the most efficient 3.0 TDV6 engine’s 37.7mpg combined with 196g/km CO2 in the conventional car. As for the supercharged petrol, 22.1mpg combined with 299g/km is painful enough in the standard Range Rover. If you’re worried about fuel consumption,
The normal base-spec TDV6 Rangie is already a rival to luxury limousines and svelte saloons like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and arguably even the Rolls-Royce Phantom. But with long wheelbase versions of both those cars available and plenty of people willing to pay the extra for, well, extra in America and China, Land Rover has chosen to go after those wanting the best of the best

Apart from the extra legroom, it really is pretty much business as usual with the long wheel base Range Rover. The car makes its world debut at the 2013 LA and Guangzhou Motor Shows ahead of going on sale in the UK in March 2014. Expect prices to start at around £80,000 for the Range Rover L

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