Welcome aboard your flight to Naples Municipal Airport. On our route down I-75 we’ll be cruising at 75mph. So if you could stow your tray table in the locked position and buckle-up we’ll be on our way…
Luxuriating in the back of Range Rover’s extraordinary new long-wheelbase Autobiography Black edition, it really does feel as if you’re stretching-out in a Gulfstream G450 or Falcon 5X. You can even request peanuts and pretzels.
This is Range Rover’s ultimate luxury flagship and, at a non-trivial $199,500, the British SUV maker’s most expensive model ever. Available from March next year, hurry to place your order as just 25 will be available here in the U.S., identified by their pearly Valloire White paintwork.
For some time now, Land Rover has been slowly inching the Range Rover line-up upmarket, pitching it as a real alternative to a Bentley Flying Spur or top-end Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
This new long-wheelbase Autobiography Black edition is designed to see how far that upward movement can go. Though judging by the reaction this bespoke 4X4 received at its global debut at last month’s Los Angeles auto show, finding 25 buyer is unlikely to be a problem.
To transform the standard Range Rover into a true limousine, the body has been stretched by 7.3 inches, all of which has gone into extra rear-seat legroom. Now when you climb in through the longer rear doors, it feels like you’re entering a stretched Town Car.
And in keeping with the elevated sticker, the craftsmanship and quality is simply sensational. Rear passengers kick back in individual Barcalounger-style leather armchairs which can recline 17 degrees and can massage, cool and calm their occupants.
For the right-rear passenger – the place where the owner will chill when being chauffeured – there’s also an electrically-levitating foot rest. Need to work? Each rear-seat rider gets an exquisitely-designed, electrically-deploying, iPad-sized leather and polished aluminum table.
Between the seats, the center console has been redesigned to incorporate a chiller compartment with space to hold the de rigueur bottle of Cristal and a couple of glasses. A couple of 10.2-inch screens on the backs of the front seats take care of movie-watching needs.
To distinguish this new Autobiography Black, there are subtle yet distinctive exterior changes. Like the new look for the front grille, and the polished aluminum edging to the side vents. Those 7-spoke 21-inch wheels with their high-gloss polished finish are also unique.
Like all Autobiography models, the ‘Black’ features a potent 510-horsepower supercharged 5.0-liter V8 coupled to an 8-speed automatic. Performance is nothing short of breathtaking.
A total of 100 long-wheelbase Autobiography Black edition Range Rovers will be offered in the U.S. at $185,000 a piece, though the first 25 to arrive will feature that pearlescent Valloire White paintwork – and the $199,500 sticker.
$200-grand for a Range Rover? Who would have thought that possible five years ago?
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