Range Rover House makes African debut in Cape Town

Range Rover House is an invitation-only experience which presents the carmaker’s vision of luxury and design.

Since 2022 more than 40 Range Rover Houses have run across 20 countries in some of the world’s most desirable locations, from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, Whistler, California and St Tropez. Each house, designed under the direction of chief creative officer Gerry McGovern, embodies the brand’s design philosophy, while reflecting local and cultural trends.

Last week Business Day Motor News attended the first one held on the African continent.

The location, rumoured to belong to a famous British podcaster, was certainly in keeping with the Range Rover aesthetic: an opulent private villa situated in Bishopscourt with a 180º view of Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak and the lush Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

On arrival I was met by JLR SA brand manager Irene Kakooza, who gave me a quick rundown of what was on offer for guests.

First was a selection of activities befitting of the Range Rover demographic. I started with the African coffee barista experience, which gave me an opportunity to taste blends sourced from Ethiopia, with a twist. While quaffing my chosen brew I was asked to listen, touch and look at external stimuli and report if any had an effect on the flavour of the coffee. They did.

While sceptical at first, I discovered that listening to different music genres, touching different textures and looking at contrasting colours all made a perceivable difference to the way my taste buds interpreted the coffee’s flavour. It turns out smooth jazz, pastel pink and smooth black leather are the perfect enhancers. Who knew?

Because I was driving I decided to skip the champagne tasting room and instead paid a visit to the water sommelier, a well-spoken gent who demonstrated the subtle differences the source of one of earth’s most essential elements can make. To do this, he let me sample an impressive array of waters assembled from countries about the globe. My pick of the bunch was filtered through volcanic rock high up in the Andes mountains and costs R450 a bottle.

Next was a five-star “dining adventure” from South African award-winning chef Ryan Cole, followed by a quick fragrance-blending session with Chanel and a hand massage delivered using onyx stones. As nice as it was playing millionaire-millionaire, I remembered I had a job to do. So I hauled myself back upstairs to find out more about the true star of the show.

Taking pride of place between the house’s expansive patio and infinity edge swimming pool, the exclusive new Range Rover SV Onyx Edition demonstrates the scope of personalisation available to the carmaker’s most discerning clientele. A product of the brand’s SV Bespoke division, it features a special exterior paint finish that displays subtle colour variations in different lighting conditions (of which there are many, thanks to fickle Cape Town weather).

Bespoke client liaison consultant Adam Mercer said the colour is now archived, meaning it will never feature on another JLR vehicle. And, no, not even bribery will make it so. Subtle contrast is provided by a Corinthian Bronze roof. This fetching shade is also featured on the Range Rover script badging and on the gigantic 23-inch diamond turned alloy wheels.

The interior is decked out with unique Caraway and Ebony leather seats, scatter cushions and beautiful open pore wood veneers. While the front and rear seats feature ebony contrast stitching and Onyx Edition embroidery, the doors swing open to reveal illuminated “1 of 7" branded treadplates, a subtle reminder of how exclusive the Range Rover SV Onyx Edition really is.

Only available in Africa (five going to owners in SA, two in Zimbabwe) and priced at R5.8m, few people will ever get to gaze upon this Range Rover’s colour-shifting panels.

Fortunately the customisation game seems to be growing in popularity, with more and more high-end customers looking to turn their vehicles into steely extensions of their personalities.

“We complete between 350 and 400 commissions a year,” said Mercer.

“Most are Range Rovers but we’ve recently extended the SV Bespoke service to include the Range Rover Sport. While what we offer at the moment is fairly basic — custom exterior paint and interior colour ways, for example — we are hoping to offer our clients more intricate levels of personalisation in the near future. We note all requests and investigate their feasibility.”

So there you have it. If you feel you can out-Onyx the Onyx and have the necessary funds to do so, get in touch with SV Bespoke and start crafting your very own one-of-a-kind creation. Who knows, maybe it’ll be featured at the next Range Rover House. Wherever that may be.