Land Rover’s Discovery Sport and wilderness cabin
British automaker Land Rover is adding comfort to the rugged wilderness with a one-off sleeper cabin designed for off-grid adventures.
Affluent consumers have evolved from an interest in material goods to a penchant for experience, which has provided opportunity for brands to develop goods that meld the finer things in life with once-in-a-lifetime activities. In part to demonstrate its versatility and all-terrain capability and design, Land Rover has worked with Danish architecture firm LUMO to create a wilderness cabin designed to fit within the Discovery Sport SUV model.
Into the wild
Together, Land Rover and LUMO modeled the wilderness cabin to reflect the automaker’s design principles and engineering integrity.
The wooden shelter is small enough to fit within the trunk space of the Discovery Sport and sleep two adults comfortably. When assembled the footprint of the cabin is only 37 square feet.
“We wanted to create a unique and functional cabin in a truly Land Rover way,” said Helen Ali, vehicle package team leader in a brand statement. “The spacious and versatile Discovery Sport was perfect for this project.
“When we engineered the compact SUV’s interior, we did it with customers in mind; the seats all fold flat, the load space is wide and square and there are lots of hidden storage spaces — and we wanted the cabin to reflect this,” she said.
Land Rover’s one-off cabin can withstand temperatures as low as -4°F. To test its durability, Land Rover assembled the cabin in remote Scotland and Jaguar Land Rover’s “cold chamber.”
Land Rover’s wilderness cabin
Taking cues from the design of the Discovery Sport, the cabin includes the SUV’s signature panoramic roof and its angular lines. The cabin is constructed of Danish Pine with its sides and roof made from plywood manufactured from hardwoods with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC ) mark. For its shingles, LUMO selected ecologically-derived Western Red Cedar.
While not for sale, Land Rover plans to use the wilderness cabin over the next few years. The cabin will make appearances in ongoing partnerships, upcoming events and showings at Land Rover Experience centers.
Land Rover has emphasized the versatility of the Discovery Sport in a number of ways.
For example, the British automaker put the Discovery Sport’s towing capacity to the test in a dramatic stunt.
The vehicle pulled a train weighing 60 times its own weight along tracks crossing the River Rhine in Switzerland. For those who were not there to witness the feat in person, Land Rover created a video of the event, giving it the opportunity to wow a larger audience (see story).