Land Rover has released the first teaser image of its new Discovery SUV.
The 2017 Land Rover Discovery will be revealed in full on the eve of the Paris motor show on September 28th, marking the fifth generation of a model that was first shown in 1989 at the Frankfurt motor show.
Back then the Discovery was a revelation, bringing a stylish side (the interior was designed by the Conran Group) to what was actually still a pretty utilitarian machine.
This latest Discovery will remain a full-sized seven seater, meaning that even those in the rearmost seats will get proper leg and head room. However, once again Land Rover is adding more style to the Discovery formula, as well as moving it more upmarket, closer to its Range Rover siblings. Despite this, Land Rover says that the vehicle will be as capable off-road as ever, combining "British desirability with an unstoppable spirit of adventure".
The styling direction of this latest Discovery was previewed in the Discovery Vision Concept, which was shown in New York in April 2014. This was followed by the Discovery Sport, a smaller SUV that still has seven seats and is now outselling even the wildly popular Range Rover Evoque.
It is likely that the new Discovery will be significantly lighter than its predecessor (it will use the same monocoque structure as the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport), which will help with efficiency, particularly as it could allow the company to offer it with a 2.0-litre diesel engine, where the current Discovery is only sold with a 3.0-litre V6 unit.
Rivals for the 2017 Discovery will include the Audi Q7 and Volvo XC90, and like those cars it is likely that a hybrid version will be offered at some point.
In the 27 years since it's been on sale, Land Rover has sold more than 1.2 million Discoveries, a number that demonstrates the enduring popularity of this vehicle - and the importance of getting its replacement just right.
We'll know more about whether it has succeeded when the car is revealed in full on September 28th.
- Chris Knapman, Telegraph.co.uk