If you’ve forked out $250,000 to hop inside the Virgin Galactic spaceship, you’re eligible to buy this luxury SUV.
Land Rover is taking the concept of special editions to new heights by unveiling a limited-run Range Rover targeting a very specific segment of the market. It’s called the “Astronaut Edition” and can only be bought by those who have signed on the dotted line to become members of the Virgin Galactic Future Astronaut community. That means roughly 700 people can hop behind the wheel of the luxury SUV, having spent a $250,000 to claim a seat inside the spaceship.
Speaking of which, the Range Rover Astronaut Edition has a “crafted piece” taken straight from the front landing skid of the spaceship used during the Virgin Spaceship Unity’s first space flight at the end of last year. The piece in question has been repurposed to create two discs in the area on the center console where the cup holders are located.
Not impressed yet? Land Rover explains that after returning to Earth from the space flight, an owner will be able to take out that part and replace it with a section of the wooden skid used during the customer’s own spaceflight. In addition, the piece will be personalized with whatever the owner wants to write related to the whole experience of going into space.
There are other special touches inside pointing towards the space journey, such as a “DNA of Flight” graphic on the front console drawer made out of carbon fiber. Land Rover has applied this motif on the leather-wrapped rear armrest as well, while the door handles manufactured from solid aluminum metal have been engraved with Virgin Galactic’s Future Astronaut community constellation pattern. The same design is also noticeable above the glove box and on the front headrests.
Stepping outside of the vehicle, the Zero Gravity Blue paint was specifically developed for the Range Rover Astronaut Edition and was inspired by a night sky’s depth and intensity. Another neat feature is the model-exclusive design of the puddle lamp illumination as it’s showing the silhouette of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo. Rounding off the tweaks is the “Astronaut Edition” badge place at the back and on the sides of the SUV.
Those eligible to buy the Range Rover Astronaut Edition will get to pick from either the P400e plug-in hybrid model or the supercharged P525. The former has an electrified 2.0-liter gasoline engine with a combined output of 398 horsepower whereas the latter uses a 5.0-liter V8 with 518 hp on tap.
Pricing hasn’t been disclosed, but if you can afford to pay a quarter of a million dollars to go into space, you can probably afford to get this Astronaut Edition.
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