For Monterey Car Week this year, Land Rover introduced the most expensive Range Rover ever, the 2024 Range Rover SV Carmel Edition. Like the 2023 Carmel Edition that we saw last year, the new one is only available in long-wheelbase form with seating for four. It also gets super expensive paint and all the fanciest interior materials that Land Rover can throw at it.
Oh, and part of the proceeds will go to benefit the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Presumably, it will be built in limited numbers, but the press release didn’t say exactly how many are planned for production.
Unlike the 2023 Carmel Edition, though, Land Rover says the 2024 model will make 606 hp instead of its predecessor’s 523 hp. Also, it now costs $370,000 instead of $345,000. You get more power and the latest in Range Rover luxury, but that’s also one seriously high pricetag. Like, cross-shop it with a Rolls-Royce Cullinan high.
Or just order both because, if you’re in the market for anything with a base price north of $250,000, you’re probably not worried about things such as budgets or whether one car you want is a better deal than the other car you also want.
But while Land Rover wouldn’t bring back the Carmel Edition for 2024 if there wasn’t plenty of demand for it, I can’t help but wonder if the brand would be better served by simply adding a new, visually distinctive model to the lineup that starts where the most expensive full-production Range Rovers top out.
Sure, some people like the relative anonymity of driving around in a car that could be owned by someone who’s just rich or someone who’s truly wealthy. But at the same time, there’s no cheaper version of the Cullinan. When you see someone pull up in one of those, it makes a statement in a way the 2024 Carmel Edition never could regardless of how much it costs.
Sure, price-wise, it competes with the Cullinan on paper. But does it really? Other than being longer and having special paint, few people are going to be able to tell the difference between a $370,000 Range Rover and a base barely-more-than-$100,000 Range Rover.
At this point, it just makes sense for Land Rover to create a Fancy Range Rover that would really stand out when parked next to more pedestrian Range Rovers. Something that’s clearly its own thing in the same way the current Range Rover and Range Rover Sport are their own things. The family resemblance is still there, but no one is going to confuse the two when they’re side-by-side.
Start the Fancy Range Rover at $250,000 or maybe even $300,000. It doesn’t really matter. Every single one will be ordered with enough custom work that the final price will be a far cry from whatever Land Rover says the base version costs. But what will matter is that no one will confuse the owner with a moderately successful orthodontist who finally managed to lease their dream car.