Evoque rally machine in patent drawings actually Milner LRM-1

Last week, we were puzzled by the emergence of a set of patent drawings reportedly filed in China that depicting a monstrous, rally-spec Range Rover Evoque. And now we seem to have our answer. When reached for comment, Land Rover sent us the following statement: "Jaguar Land Rover has not applied for patents associated with a rally version of the Range Rover Evoque and can therefore not comment any further on the origin of the reports being circulated in the media."

Fair enough, but whose vehicle is it, then? It looks to belong to a company called Milner Off Road Racing, a British outfit that – similar to Bowler – specializes in transforming Land Rovers into rally machines. The images apparently depict the Milner LRM-1, a mid-engined rally machine cloaked in bodywork made to look like the Evoque, only 20 percent smaller.

It packs Land Rover's 5.0-liter supercharged V8, tuned to deliver over 550 horsepower and placed in the back of a bespoke chassis with a six-speed sequential gearbox, custom diffs and double-wishbone independent suspension front and rear. Milner will gladly sell you one either as a kit or as a turn-key vehicle ready to tackle the old dusty trail at what are sure to be breakneck speeds. Sounds delicious.