Planned and developed under BMW ownership, the vehicle was intended to share components and systems (electronics, core power units etc.)

In his Sunday Times column, Jeremy Clarkson once went on record to state that he owned a Range Rover TDV8 Vogue and it was "the best car in the world and best 4x4.

When the Rover Group was taken over by BMW shortly after the P38A's launch in 1994, the newly installed BMW management at Land Rover quickly concluded that the car would not have a long shelf life compared to its predecessor, due to its fundamentally dated underpinnings, and cancelled the planned '99 Model Year' updates.

The L30 project was a joint one involving engineers from both Rover Group and BMW and was initially based at BMW's FIZ Engineering Centre in Munich before transferring to Land Rover's Solihull plant for the final stages prior to volume production.

[7][8][9] The new Range Rover's introduction in early 2002 as a 2003 model for the North American market resulted in the Range Rover, Mitsubishi Montero and Ford Expedition (also new for 2003) being the only three SUVs in the full-size sport utility class with four-wheel independent suspension systems at that time.

Early US-specification Range Rover included air conditioning with tri-zone climate controls with interior air filter, power tilt/telescopic leather-wrapped steering wheel with radio controls, cruise control, memory system, leather upholstered twelve-way power driver seats, ten-way power passenger seat, power sunroof, a premium sound system with six-disc CD changer, navigation system with voice activation, rearview camera, wireless mobile phone link, universal garage door opener, and outside-temperature indicator.

Options included 14-way power heated/cooled front seats, DVD entertainment system, and upgraded leather upholstery.

This new Range Rover was officially presented at the 2005 North American International Auto Show and released in summer 2005.

Suppliers for the 2006 Range Rover's components include Continental Automotive for the complete cockpit module which incorporates the Denso touch screen navigation unit.

Other suppliers include Alpine car audio for integrated head unit rear seat entertainment.

However, the external C-pillar was given a glass facelift akin to that of the Range Rover Sport, marking a subtle and yet clear departure from the original BMW influenced design.

On the inside, the hidden folding cup holder that popped out of the end of the dashboard in previous models was replaced by a simpler and more durable in-console design with sliding covers (similar in concept, but higher quality, to those in the Range Rover Sport).

Heated seats are standard across the board, with newly available climate controlled front seats standard on all supercharged trims and HSE Luxury/Vogue, with three settings for cool air and hot air activated by round dials on either side of the analog clock on the lower part of the center control stack, and the premium leather seats from the BMW era are no longer available, with new more premium quality leather in different grains for HSE/Vogue, SE/Vogue, HSE Luxury/ Vogue and all supercharged trims.

In a return to original Range Rover styling, more wood inserts have been added to the doors and centre console.

For the 2010 model year refresh, the Range Rover received an updated exterior grille, a multicamera vision system, front bumper with newly repositioned fog lights lower in the bumper, LED accented bi-xenon headlights/LED tail/brake lights with front and rear amber LED turn signals with a three bar design, optional blind spot assist and adaptive auto high beam headlights which are now part of the new for 2010 vision assist package optional on the HSE and HSE with the luxury package, standard on all supercharged trims.

The other display unit is fitted to the centre console and uses a bi-directional screen to show different images depending on viewing angle (may not be available in the US).

This allows navigational information to be displayed to the driver, whilst someone in the front passenger seat can use the same screen to use the onboard DVD player at the same time, for example.

Either the 4.4 TDV8 or 5.0 Supercharged engines can be chosen, both with extra power, the cars also feature a modified 'Aero 3' Overfinch body kit to distinguish them from other Range Rovers.

The 2011 model year Range Rovers include minor styling changes, improved interiors and an upgraded 4x4 system as well new optional packages.

Each vehicle is a supercharged Range Rover in a special pearl white paint with "Diamond" split-spoke 20-inch wheels and a unique, two-tone interior.

In the front, the car is little different from a standard Autobiography, more wood finishes are offered, as are a few unique trim pieces.

The difference is in the rear cabin, which is furnished with two iPads, a fixed armrest with metal laptop desk, electric reclining climate-controlled seats, and a refrigerator.