RANGE ROVER REACHES NEW HEIGHTS WITH ASTRONAUT EDITION BUILT TO CELEBRATE PARTNERSHIP WITH VIRGIN GALACTIC

Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations has launched a special edition Range Rover which will be available exclusively to Future Astronauts signed up to fly to space with Virgin Galactic.

• Exclusive Range Rover Astronaut Edition produced by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations is only available to members of the Virgin Galactic Future Astronaut community
• Exterior elements include unique Zero Gravity Blue paint inspired by the beautiful effects of the night sky, plus a bespoke Virgin Galactic puddle lamp design
• One-off interior design includes custom cup holder crafted from the spaceship’s front landing skid, ‘DNA of Flight’ logo graphic veneer and aluminium door handles with the Future Astronaut community constellation design
• Land Rover has been working with Virgin Galactic since 2014 as its exclusive automotive partner

The Astronaut Edition features distinctive exterior and interior design elements celebrating this once in a lifetime experience and Virgin Galactic’s unique community of Future Astronauts. It marks another important milestone in the ongoing partnership between Land Rover and Virgin Galactic, which has been an authentic collaboration since the start.

A unique Zero Gravity Blue paint finish inspired by the depth and intensity of the night sky demonstrates Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations’ state-of-the-art technologies and exceptional attention to detail. A bespoke puddle lamp illumination design features the silhouette of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo while unique Astronaut Edition badging features on the tailgate and side profile finishers.

Inside, the Astronaut Edition features a crafted piece of the spaceship’s front landing skid that flew on Virgin Spaceship Unity’s first space flight in December 2018. Part of that skid, which provides the spaceship with a highly effective, lightweight braking mechanism, has been re-purposed to form two discs within the cup holders. One of these references a quote which Richard Branson often makes to his fellow Future Astronauts - ‘See you up there’ -and the other features the details of the space flight. Once a Future Astronaut has flown to space, and becomes an astronaut, this will be swapped out with part of the wooden skid from that customer’s own spaceflight, personally inscribed with the specific details of a life changing experience.

Further bespoke features include a ‘DNA of Flight’ graphic on the carbon fibre front console drawer lid and this motif is also debossed onto the leather rear armrest. Solid aluminium metal door handles are engraved with Virgin Galactic’s own Future Astronaut community constellation pattern which represents a global community connected by a love of space. This design also features on the rear of the front headrests and metal letterbox panel design above the glovebox. Additional personalisation options include stitching the Future Astronaut’s initials onto the headrests.

The Astronaut Edition is based on the luxurious Range Rover Autobiography, where comfort and refinement meet peerless all-terrain capability. In line with both brands’ commitment to a sustainable future, the Astronaut Edition is available with Land Rover’s P400e plug-in electric hybrid vehicle powertrain, which delivers a combined 404PS, EV range of 42km and CO2 emissions of 72g/km - subject to market availability. A high-performance 5.0-litre V8 P525 supercharged petrol is also offered.