In America, it’s pretty close to a given---anyone can buy a car. Your personal circumstances will determine what kind of car and how much or how little it costs.
Even for those of means, whose wealth enables the purchase of six-figure luxury vehicles, it can be simply a transaction between company and customer.
Or it can be something more.
Range Rover is reaching for a deeper connection, interacting with its clientele after the sale, and bringing those customers into contact with each other, with Range Rover House.
Since 2022, Range Rover has invited select owners of its vehicles to join them at Range Rover Houses in luxury destinations around the globe---most recently, for nine days in March (the ninth through the 17th) in Park City, Utah.
I was part of a group of automotive, travel and lifestyle journalists Range Rover invited to Park City. Range Rover paid for roundtrip airfare, ground transportation, two nights’ lodging, food and beverages at the Pendry Park City.
There was also brunch and a walk around the Sundance Resort, owned and lovingly preserved by actor Robert Redford from 1969 to 2020, a two-hour snowmobile tour and access to all the amenities of Range Rover House Park City for several hours before and after the unveiling of the Range Rover Sport Park City Edition.
None of that hospitality influences my opinion. A look back at my reviews of the Range Rover PHEV, the Range Rover Velar, Range Rover Sport and the Range Rover SV shows what tremendous vehicles these are judged strictly on their own merits.
On the day leading up to the Range Rover House event, we were given the chance to refamiliarize ourselves with the Range Rover Sport with a drive from Park City to Sundance Resort and back, about a 70-mile round trip. Each of us drove 2024 Range Rover Sport Dynamic SEs, which begin at $92,175 (including destination). Standard at that price is a 3-liter turbocharged and supercharged six-cylinder engine making 395 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque, an eight-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive, Land Rover’s Terrain Response 2 with selectable driving and off-road modes, low-traction launch and hill descent control.
There, on the eastern side of the Wasatch Range, the Range Rover Sport is in its natural environment---a snowy, rugged landscape that the vehicle is more than capable of conquering while giving the driver and passengers comfort, safety, security and luxury. Even in the wilderness, you’re riding in Windsor heated seats with a heated steering wheel, two-zone climate control, a sliding panoramic roof and a tremendous Meridian sound system---all standard.
The Fuji White Range Rover Sport Dynamic SE I drove that day also had the optional-at-extra-cost Hot Climate Pack---solar-attenuating windscreen, twin-blade sunvisors with illuminated vanity mirrors, front center console refrigerator compartment, four-zone climate control and cabin air purification ($1,805), the Technology Pack---ClearSight interior rearview mirror, domestic plug socket and head-up display ($1,785), 22-inch Satin Dark Grey wheels ($1,100), a black contrast roof ($1,000), the Black Exterior Pack ($750), the Premium Interior Protection and Storage Pack ($725), a 22-inch full-size spare wheel ($500), the Cold Climate Pack---heated windscreen and heated washer jets ($450), heated and ventilated rear seats ($300), the wheel protection pack ($220), Park Assist ($200), the emergency pack ($75), and the Range Rover Handover Pack---a very nice box containing the key fobs ($65). The as-tested price? $101,150.
That evening, we joined invited Range Rover owners at Range Rover House---a two-story event space in Park City’s historic downtown.
There, you’re treated like royalty and like family---with effortless and unpretentious perfection and grace. What would you enjoy? A massage? Oxygen or IV therapy? A fragrance blending appointment with a master perfumer? Innovations in beauty and recovery? Having had a (thankfully minor) mishap on my snowmobile that afternoon, I opted for massage and a handcrafted cocktail, in that order---sipping my Manhattan while listening to terrific live entertainment.
Then came the reveal of the Range Rover Sport Park City Edition---with Range Rover Global Managing Director Geraldine Ingham:
Only seven of these special Range Rover Sports will be built---each a PHEV (plug-in hybrid) model with 53 miles of pure electric range.
The exterior color scheme (Ethereal Frost Silver in Satin Finish with a Narvik Black Contrast roof and 23-inch Dark Grey SV Bespoke wheels with carbon fiber inserts) is unique to the Park City Edition, as are deployable side steps that ease your way into a Park City Edition exclusive interior. Duo Tone Ebony/Light Cloud suedecloth headliner, Light Cloud/Ebony perforated Semi-Aniline leather seats and SV Bespoke satin-forged carbon fiber interior trim.
Additionally, the Range Rover Sport Park City Edition comes with two sets of Hinterland custom skis, customized fittings, Land Rover Accessories cross bars, a roof ski carrier, and two Theragun portable massagers in custom leather cases.
Images courtesy Jaguar Land Rover
Each of the seven Park City Edition vehicles will retail for $169,000 (plus destination, tax and license), with Range Rover donating a portion of each sale to the Park City Community Foundation.
Clearly, there are more than seven Range Rover owners who would like to own a special Range Rover Sport. Range Rover House also includes a Design Suite where, in 20 minutes or less, guests can create their own bespoke Range Rover.
After the Park City Edition reveal, we were invited to join a select group of guests for a private dinner of ultra-seasonal and sustainable ingredients prepared by James Beard-nominated chef Mike Blocher that itself was combined with a spirits masterclass and tasting with Diageo Rare & Exceptional National Luxury Ambassador Ewan Morgan---pairing single-malt whiskeys with each course.
I have long said that Range Rovers are exceptional vehicles (the brand currently makes the only PHEVs that meet the 2035 zero-emission regulations for several states and the European Union). With Range Rover House and the special edition vehicles introduced at each location, the brand has found a way deepen connections not just with its clients, but between them…transforming ownership to membership, merely buying to belonging.
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