| There can be loveliness in the rugged and the functional, which is perhaps why a design aesthetic that accommodates the practical alongside the alluring, that blends the purposeful with the beautiful cannot fail to charm. For evidence of this truth in the motoring world, consider the Land Rover in all its glory: handsome and sturdy, gorgeous and brawny, good looks garnished with a bit of the brutish and the beastly. Heritage has a part to play in explaining the evolution of Land Rover, and Gerry McGovern, director of design at the iconic brand, is not about to discount its importance. “The first Land Rover [unveiled in 1948] was a consequence of its time,” says Mr McGovern. “It used aluminium because there was a shortage of steel after the Second World War. The vehicle was designed to be taken off road on all terrain; essentially, early Land Rovers looked the way they did because of what they did. Our vehicles have evolved over time, but these design cues are still evident.” Land Rover started out producing vehicles for the British military. Consequently, its design characteristics were rooted in a no-nonsense design. “What my team and I have been trying to do is recognise this heritage while not becoming harnessed to it,” says Mr McGovern. “We are designing vehicles for a world that has changed significantly from then, so part of my job is to look at design and ask what its relevance is in a modern-day context.” Land Rover’s design strategy, Mr McGovern explains, is based on four key elements: a fresh approach to functionality, sustainability, luxury and desirability. The Discovery Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport were the first to incorporate this strategy and the Range Rover Evoque the first to fully integrate it. “But, clearly, it will take a whole new generation of vehicles to fully implement this strategy.”
The folks at Land Rover understand all too well the criticality of design in the brand’s success, especially so in an automobile universe where vehicles are comparable in terms of technologies and specifications. “There is a deliberate attempt to make our vehicles more desirable, but it’s essential to strike the right balance,” says Mr McGovern. “Go too far and you are in danger of losing those core values; don’t go far enough and you’ll be perceived as retrospective and irrelevant.” The degree of difficulty involved in getting this balance right is high, particularly with sports utility vehicles (or SUVs). There are stringent regulatory requirements that have to be met, on emissions, pedestrian safety and the like. “We would like our vehicles to become smaller but legislation is, in some respects, making them bigger, and that poses a dilemma for us,” says Mr McGovern. Making the Land Rover more environment friendly is another challenge. “Sustainability is playing a much bigger role than it has in the past. Added to that are factors such as aerodynamics, which in earlier days would not have been too significant for a Land Rover.” Land Rover’s partnership with Jaguar — the sharing of “intellectual horsepower”, as Mr McGovern puts it — is a common advantage these two marquee names can draw on. “The ability to share components, platforms, engines, power trains, etc is a clear benefit. However, we have to do this in a way that protects the integrity of our brands, not only in terms of design but also the way our vehicles drive, their performance and their overall personalities.” An example of this sharing is the ‘virtual reality centre’ that Jaguar and Land Rover created in 2008. Termed the most advanced design studio in the world when it was unveiled, the centre has helped the two brands speed up the product development cycle and reduce the number of physical prototypes they need to build. “We can simulate life-size, three-dimensional vehicle exteriors and interiors down to the smallest detail,” says Mr McGovern. “You can see instantly if something will work.” SUVs have their share of critics — who pan it for their environmental unfriendliness, for hogging road space and for encouraging aggressive driver behaviour — but Mr McGovern is not buying their arguments. “We envisage that by the end of this decade annual sales of SUVs will reach 20 million units,” he says. “SUVs offer a huge amount of versatility and flexibility. Consumers, especially women, feel safer and more secure in these vehicles, and we have to be morally responsible in terms of the way we design them.” Making an emotional connection with consumers is vital, and design goes a long way to doing just that. “Design is, for us, no longer a result of engineering or manufacturing,” adds Mr McGovern. “We believe that it is design that creates the emotional connection.” Today’s Land Rovers and Range Rovers, thus, take the best from their past to make the most of the future. The luxury element is of particular importance here. “We are not just designing four-wheel drive vehicles now,” says Mr McGovern. “We are designing luxury products and we are competing with other luxury manufacturers, not only those from the automotive sector but from other industry segments as well. This has been a difficult transition for us to undertake, but we are starting to comprehend it. We are seeing a culture shift within our business. “ The commonplace is not for Land Rover and going with the flow — which means that following whatever trend has found favour for a six-month lifespan — is never an option. “We don’t design ordinary vehicles,” says Mr McGovern. “For us, design is not about following the latest trends. We are aware of what is going on in the SUV market — the preference for more car-like quality and comfort, the desire for new technology, and so on — but, in the context of pure design, we don’t follow fashion.” Swinging to its own rhythm on design has helped Land Rover plenty. “It’s making our brand more desirable, more accessible to a wider group of people,” says Mr McGovern. “It’s making us more modern and relevant, without eroding any of our core values. I’m asked where my inspiration comes from. It comes from the brand. We have a collection of vehicles that are singular, that have the ability to stretch and mean different things to different people.” |
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