The naysayers have been numerous and vocal when it comes to Victoria Beckham’s involvement in the Range Rover Evoque as a brand ambassador. At Beijing 2012 Range Rover went one step further and revealed its “special version with Victoria Beckham”. But before your shudder to the very heels of your self-righteous colour and trim boots, fear not, it’s actually not that bad. Yes there’s some real rose gold plating on the grille, side and rear Evoque badging plus around the some of the interior knobs, but the rest of the additions are pretty subtle.
The cool satin matte paint finish and clear rear lights – the red circular surrounds were deleted at Victoria’s request – are credible additions and on the interior the semi-aniline leather seats and wonderful mohair carpet and mats are good enough to grace bare feet. According to the Range Rover design team Ms VB made a dozen or so visits to Land Rover’s Gaydon HQ and London to talk through the collaboration and was keen that the car wasn’t heavily branded with her name. The only reference to her involvement is a personally signed ‘care book’ in the glove box to match the bespoke luggage set in the boot.
Limited to 200 units worldwide and costing £79,995 it won’t be to everyone’s taste or wallet but then it’s not meant to be, and it’s certainly less corny and considerably more thoughtful than many other fashion/auto mash-ups.
Verdict: Logical, profitable, no brand killer, and better than feared.
By Guy Bird
