HIGH LIFE Black tie balls and celebrations in Lincolnshire.

THIS MONTH: ON THE TRAIL OF THE CRANWELL BLOODHOUNDS...

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A Celebration of The Countryside with Cranwell Bloodhounds

LAST MONTH marked a welcome return to the Newark & Notts Showground for The Cranwell Bloodhounds as they held what should be their annual ball. The group was established in 1992 by joint masters the late Philip Broughton and his wife Wendy, with a view to providing a day in the countryside that everyone could enjoy. Bloodhounds hunt the ‘clean boot,’ the natural scent of human (i.e.: a cross country runner), not an animal. To do this, hounds are given an article of clothing to smell or the quarry will greet the hounds at the meet, thus giving the hounds ample time to get used to their scent. The quarry is given 20 minutes head start, no artificial scent is used, just the natural smell of the quarry. For more information on the group, see www.cranwellbloodhounds.co.uk. n

Words & Images: Rob Davis.

Lincolnshire Young Farmers’ Annual County Ball 2021

LINCOLNSHIRE’S Young Farmers recently celebrated the reinvigoration of their social calender post-Covid with a celebration at the Lincolnshire Showground, including a three course supper plus entertainment from the Richard Reeves Band and a raffle. “We are a rural youth organisation open to young people up to 26 years old who live in Lincolnshire,” says County Chairperson Charlotte Garbutt. “Led by young people for young people our county programme of events aims to provide members with amazing opportunities and life experiences.” “There is the opportunity to develop skills, work in your community, take part in a varied competitions programme and enjoy a dynamic social life.” For more information, see www.lincsyfc.org.uk. n

Images: Joy Hutchinson, www.joyhutchinson.gotphoto.co.uk.

An automotive interpretation of Modern Luxury

It’s a tall order indeed to reinvent a car that’s been an iconic sight in both town and country for over 50 years. There’s a lot riding on Land Rover’s new flagship Range Rover. Can it deliver? Words: Rob Davis.

BACK IN 1970 the world was a very different place indeed. There’s more technology in even modest cars today than it took to send a man to walk on the surface of the moon. Today’s cars are a mass of chips, sensors and driver aids, not to mention being rather more comfortable than anything you could pilot half a century ago, with better engineering, manufacturing and design. Looking back at the original Range Rover now it’s difficult to believe that it was considered the embodiment of comfort... it looks positively crude by today’s standards. Over five generations, its successive reinvention has brought us right up to October 2021, when Land Rover chiefs unveiled an all new model for the 21st century to the world’s press at London’s Royal Opera House. Commensurate with a vehicle which is available to order now with first deliveries in spring 2022, it’s been created with an all new architecture that builds in electrification (full electrification will not be available until 2024) and eco-friendly qualities as well as reflecting traditional Range Rover values like space, luxury and terrific breadth of capability.

With the advent of the Range Rover Sport, Velar and both Land Rover’s Discovery and Defender, the market place has become much more crowded in recent years, with the Range Rover jostling among its siblings to secure sales, never mind the fact that other manufactures like Bentley and Rolls, Aston Martin and Porsche have all entered the posh-SUV market. With prices for the best vehicles now comfortably in the £150,000 region, this version of the Range Rover has been given the necessary breathing space to put some distance between its sub-£100,000 siblings and really make the new flagship special. Accordingly, the new model starts at £94,400 and tops out at £131,000, which will increase when the dedicated sports model, which will be badged SV – a reference to the firm’s Special Vehicles Operations engineering department – launches later in 2022. For now though the Range Rover is available in SE, HSE and Autobiography trims, in both a standard and longer wheelbase version. Engine choices at launch include a 3.0V6 diesel (badged D300 and generating 300hp), 3.0V6 diesel (badged D350 and generating 350hp) and a P400 3.0V6 petrol generating 400hp. At the top of the lineup is a 4.4V8 petrol unit generating 530hp. Two additional engines with plug-in hybrid technology and all-electric ranges of at least 60 miles are yet to go on sale and will doubtless lead to the extinction of diesel in the lineup, providing a last hooray for combustion prior to full electrification in a couple of years. One very welcome addition to the new Range Rover is the option to specify six or seven seats including two ‘Executive Class Comfort Plus’ seats in the middle row, mostly aimed at the Chinese market where

being chauffeured is more popular than self-driving. Otherwise, it’s possible to seat seven in comfort in the new model, and of course all seats can be heated, cooled, they can recline and provide a hot stone massage. In terms of spec, we’d recommend the shorter wheelbase unless you really do make the most of the rear seats, and spec those rearmost seats according to your needs. We think the D300 has all of the smoothness, power and economy you’ll need, although we’ll quickly consider the plug-in hybrid model instead, as soon as it launches. Likewise, base SE trim is very well equipped indeed with adaptive cruise and a 3D camera making motorway driving and parking easy. Heated seats in the front and rear, electrically adjustable and clad in leather, plus a heated steering wheel, panoramic roof and a power tailgate are all standard, so we’d opt for the SE and add perhaps a few choice options like Park Assist for automated parking, which will pay for its £250 list price the first time it spares you the ignominy of a scuffed bumper in a tight car park. Being a Range Rover, an eight speed auto gearbox, low range gears, air suspension and the company’s Terrain Response system are all standard. There’s probably no terrain around the county that a Range Rover driver would find inaccessible, and not only will you get there, you’ll do so in style, comfort and in unashamed luxury. n

THE DETAILS Range Rover

Price: £94,400, D300 SE (first deliveries March 2022). Powertrain: 3.0L 300HP diesel, all wheel drive, eight-speed auto box. Performance: 0-62mph: 6.5 seconds, top speed 135mph. Economy 36.7mpg, 202g/km, Equipment: Heated electrically adjustable leather seats, 360° camera, adaptive cruise, navigation, heated steering wheel, power tailgate, soft door close, keyless entry, Apple Carplay. n

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR LAND ROVER?

Last month Jaguar Land Rover revealed that its business lost £302m from the period July-September 2021. Covid, Brexit and the current shortage of semiconductors (chips used in everything from anti-lock brakes and engine management systems to your car’s air conditioning and hi-fi) were to blame for supply problems and for sluggish sales. In fact the company says that it has its lowest ever level of inventory (i.e.: the number of available cars that dealers can nab for buyers seeking a particular model or configuration). The company remains optimistic though, not least because with outstanding orders of 120,000 vehicles waiting to be satisfied, there’s still very strong demand for its best model lineup ever. The new Defender, expensive as it is, has been enormously well-received and it’s currently outselling the firm’s Discovery by roughly three to one. With the new Range Rover providing the firm with a fitting flagship, and with electrification now possible across the firm’s range, 2022 is looking very bright indeed for the company and Land Rover is set to enjoy a bumper year. n Land Rover Sales by Model:

Sales, January-October 2021. Land Rover Defender: 50,882. Range Rover Evoque: 50,299. Range Rover Sport: 46,279. Land Rover Discovery Sport: 43,618. Range Rover: 32,474. Range Rover Velar: 30,047. Land Rover Discovery: 15,268. n