Land Rover Off-Road Coupè (Photoshop)

Land Rover is planning an affordable, fun-to-drive off-road coupe as part of a plan to broaden the brand’s appeal to a new generation of buyers.

The low roof, high ground clearance three-door will be the ‘image’ car in the range of sub-Freelander models that Land Rover has in the pipeline for launch around 2013. It will add gloss to the family of affordable, light-duty 4x4s that the company has been hinting at over the past few years, and that could also include the more traditional, rugged but affordable 'Landie' that has been mooted for so long.

“This would be Land Rover’s TT,” one insider told

Autocar

, “an image car that adds excitement to the Land Rover brand going forward and that can score with younger buyers.”

The coupe-like three-door, shown here in sketches exclusive to Autocar and based on official images, could be as little as three years from being given the go-ahead for production; a concept hinting at the theme may be seen in as little as 18 months, to prepare the ground for what many will see as a challenging new future for Land Rover.

autocarmagazine.com