Calling all Land Rover Loving Future Astronauts!
Land Rover Releases the New Range Rover Astronaut Edition. A Special SUV Designed Exclusively for Those who are Scheduled to Blast off Into Space with Virgin Galactic.
Land Rover has officially immortalized Virgin Galactic’s July 11 launch with a special edition Range Rover, aka the Astronaut Edition.
It’s a highly exclusive Range Rover that celebrates what the automaker calls “the Virgin Galactic Future Astronaut Community” (VGFACs for short) and its contribution to the democratization of space.
Last month at a public event, Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s Chief design Officer, took Virgin Galactic chief Richard Branson through the design process of the limited-edition “astronaut” commission, which was created by Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division.
Each of the utility vehicle’s major design features represent “future astronauts’” bond with one another, with the spaceship and with history of flight. The Astronaut Edition is also a “manifestation of the values and vision” shared by Land Rover and Virgin Galactic, the companies said in a joint statement.
And while the Range Rover Astronaut Edition is available exclusively to the Virgin Galactic Future Astronaut Community (as small as that may be) 2021 is a great year for buying any Land Rover, one of the most rugged and well-made utility vehicles on the planet.
The Land Rover Discovery, for instance, is a decidedly upscale utility vehicle that offers impressive off-road capability with plenty of room for up to seven people inside its luxurious three-row cabin. A pair of turbo-charged gas-powered engines – a four-cylinder and six-cylinder – are offered, and all Discovery models come with an adjustable air suspension and standard all-wheel drive. The “Wade” mode improves the Discovery’s water-fording capabilities, something you won’t find in most other luxury SUVs.
But if space travel is on your bucket list then look no further than the Astronaut Edition Land Rover.
Since Virgin Galactic’s first journey to space several years ago a fleet of Land Rover vehicles has been on the ground at the company’s development and test facilities in Mojave at the Spaceport America in New Mexico.
The Rovers provide much-needed support to the Virgin Galactic team as it moves closer and closer to offering regular commercial flights for every-day passengers.
The Range Rover Astronaut Edition design combines functionality with a streamlined, elegant beauty. It’s an aesthetic that matches the architecture of Virgin Galactic’s spaceflight system.
For instance, the wooden skid which acts as a highly effective, lightweight braking mechanism within SpaceShipTwo’s landing gear, is a perfect representation of this shared ideology. “A part of the skid from a Future Astronauts’ own spaceflight will be engraved and re-fashioned to form an integral part of the Astronaut Edition’s center console,” the companies said in a joint statement.
And there are, of course, a plethora of other bespoke features which have been executed by the Special Vehicle Operations Division at Land Rover.
Among them:
- The ‘Zero Gravity’ exterior color, unique to the Astronaut Edition, is a multi-layered paint that mirrors the inky, infinite depths of a star-filled night sky.
- The Virgin Galactic ‘DNA of Flight’ logo, which showcases the progress of aviation and spaceflight through time, adorns the carbon fiber console drawer lid and is also embossed onto the seat. The story begins with Icarus and ends with Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, in case you were wondering.
- Further detailing takes the form of the iconographical representation of 58 stars in a constellation, one for every nation represented in the future astronaut community.
- When the doors open, a bespoke puddle lamp switches on to illuminate the ground and shows a silhouette of SpaceShipTwo.
The two companies say they are committed to a future of transportation which is both clean and sustainable. To that end, the Astronaut Edition is equipped with Land Rover’s advanced 404hp plug-in hybrid where available. This provides a sustainable solution without compromising performance, experience or design.
For now, the Range Rover Astronaut Edition is only available to “future astronauts” – or people who are signed up to go to space on a Virgin Galactic commercial flight. So far, about 700 people have put down $250,000 for a ticket to go to space, with all flights currently sold out for the time being.
In the meantime, back down here on earth, we’ve got an enormous inventory of other bespoke Land Rovers that will send your driving experience into the stratosphere.
Contact our Land Rover dealerships today for more information:
