Land Rover may have, sadly, canned the production prospects of its putative Range Rover two-door 'coupe' but a pair of enterprising fellows from The Netherlands have put their heads together to come up with an actual two-door Rangie that you can buy.
The Adventum Coupe is the joint brainchild of car designer Niels van Roij and coachbuilder Bas van Roomen. Van Roij is the man behind the one-off Tesla Model S shooting brake estate, while van Roomen is the man who built the Ferrari 550-based tribute to the 'Breadvan' 250 GTO racing car.
The two-door Adventum will be based on the current Range Rover and will use that car's top-spec 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine with as much as 525hp. As van Roij points out, the original Range Rover, launched 50 years ago this year, was only available at first as a two-door car. The four-door Range Rover wasn't launched until 1981.
"The original, first generation of this British icon was launched in 1970 and is exemplary automotive design work" said van Roij. "The bespoke Adventum Coupe is a real design statement with a distinctive, custom-made aluminium bodywork, built by coachbuilder Bas van Roomen. Unique personal ideas can also be added to the hand-produced exterior, such as subtle ventilation openings in the fender and the bonnet. The interior can be equipped with the finest materials. Van Roij explains: "In a co-design process with the future owner, we shape exterior and interior. We process the finest materials, such as Tweed, teak and lambswool. We make it so personal that even the favourite pinstripe from the owner's suit can be incorporated into the interior."
The construction of the first Adventum Coupe has now been completed. According to Van Roij, every coachbuilt commission will be carefully composed: "If desired, each Adventum Coupe can have striking materials and colour schemes for both interior and exterior: Everything is possible: from unique fuel filler caps, duotone exterior paints, highly polished wood on the dashboard, personalised tread plates to colour-matched leather in chic patterns. Even refined embroidery is a possibility."
Although a current Range Rover will form the donor car for each Adventum, the bodywork between the A-pillar and C-pillar will be entirely new, and hand-formed in aluminium by van Roomen. Only the bonnet, front wings, and tailgate will be shared between the two cars. Best of all, the awkward fake vents in the front wings (our least favourite design aspect of the current Range Rover) will be done away with. Why? "Because form follows function." says Van Roij. "This new look visually extends the car. The shutlines of the door actively contribute to a more elegant side view. The interior has also been largely redesigned due to the major changes to the exterior."
The first Adventum has been finished in Arctic White with a red leather interior, and lots of piano-black interior lacquer. The rear seats are individual captain's chairs, rather than a conventional bench. The interior door trims are unique, and feature two door handles - one for the front seat passenger, and one that can be reached by someone sitting in the rear.
The entire floor of this first car has been finished in antique teak wood, stretching from the front footwell all the way into the boot. The caulking between the teak has been finished in white, to carry over some of the pain signature from the exterior. There are even two hand-stitched red-and-black umbrellas in the boot.
How much? €270,000 to you, squire, but that's before taxes.