Unveiled: 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque SUV

Under the company's new Indian ownership, Land Rover is continuing to expand its upscale Range Rover division. Yesterday, Land Rover commemorated the Range Rover sub-brand's 40th anniversary by revealing a new model it will call the Range Rover Evoque, based on the Land Rover LRX show car from the 2008 Detroit Auto Show.

Land Rover officials revealed few specifics about the Evoque, other than that it will have four-wheel-drive and be "the most fuel-efficient Range Rover" ever. (Of course, that is a not a major accomplishment. The compact LR2 gets 18 mpg overall in our testing.)

The Evoque is reportedly based on a shortened Range-Rover Sport frame, pointing to it being about two inches shorter in both length and height than the company's LR2. As with all its models, the company has said the LRX is intended as an off-road vehicle.

In addition to the new car, Range Rover announced it had hired Spice Girl and clothing designer Victoria Beckam to join its design team. The partnership seems well timed to capitalize on current interest in World Cup soccer, even though her futbol-hero husband David Beckham wasn't in this year's FIFA competition.

The production car is scheduled to debut at the Paris Auto Show in September, and it goes on sale in North America in the fall of 2011.

— Eric Evarts