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Shah Rukh Khan and Yash to Ranbir Kapoor: Why Indian Celebrities Covet The Range Rover
The Range Rover has gone from off-road champion to red carpet essential. Here’s why it became the celebrity car of choice across generations of Indian stars.
From Shah Rukh Khan and Yash to Ananya Panday and Janhvi Kapoor, India’s biggest stars — across generations — have one automotive obsession in common: the Range Rover. Sure, they might collect vintage cars or admire muscular classics, but the commanding British SUV (sports utility vehicle) inevitably finds its way into their garages. But the Range Rover’s automotive prestige isn’t a recent development.
Vintage car collector and restorer Rishad Kundanmal traces its cult status back to the late ’70s and ’80s, when the vehicle first proved itself as both capable and coveted. The turning point? The legendary Camel Trophy, an annual off-roading adventure competition that was conducted between 1980 and 2000 in various countries such as Brazil, Australia, Madagascar, and Indonesia. “The first event had three vehicles: the regular jeeps,” Kundanmal recalls. “The following year, Land Rovers entered and ever since then, it became a cult phenomenon.”
Going Off-road
Tata Motors’ acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover in 2008 made this British luxury more accessible to Indian celebrities. Today, the Range Rover Vogue and Range Rover Autobiography remain the most coveted variants, with owners including actors Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty, Sanjay Dutt, and Sushmita Sen. Khan is an admirer of the brand, as reported by Cartoq in October 2024.
What also sets the Land Rover apart is its unique position in automotive history. It redefined what an SUV could be. “People never expected an SUV to be a luxury vehicle and that’s exactly what the Range Rover did,” says Kundanmal. “And now we have every other company trying to reach that spot, whether it’s Mercedes GLS’s or Land Cruisers.”
Elevated Sense
The appeal goes beyond brand cachet. “You are much higher than most vehicles, and it gives you all the bells and whistles like a luxury car would give you, but with far more use and status,” Kundanmal explains. “When someone buys a Range Rover, everyone knows they’ve arrived.” But there’s also a more practical angle. Christopher Rodricks of Bengaluru-based Rodricks Restorations points to India’s challenging road conditions. “The suspension and steering components take a beating in India compared to other countries, so people prefer more rugged cars,” he says.
His colleague Srinand Piedpet adds, “Indians never travel light, let me put it that way. Whenever they travel, they travel with family and a lot of luggage — you need something more beefy.”
The Range Rover also happens to be more easily accessible in India than other beefy cars made by American companies such as Cadillac or Ford. “If you look at any other company, like Cadillac, which has beautiful Escalades and things like that, Ford also has SUVs and pick-up trucks, but none of them are available in India. Only a very few people here own them. This makes the Range Rover one of the only options in this segment,” says Kundanmal.
Marketing and perception play a part too. “The Prime Minister uses a Range Rover. It percolates down to what people think it represents.” The Prime Minister’s vehicle is a Range Rover Sentinel, a heavily armoured variant, with thickened body panels and a bulletproof exterior. According to Cartoq, Narendra Modi is the second Indian Prime Minister to drive a Range Rover after Rajiv Gandhi, who was gifted a Range Rover Vogue by the King of Jordan in 1985.
From off-road warrior to Bollywood essential, the Range Rover seems to have maintained its crown as India’s celebrity SUV of choice.
However, there may be trouble in paradise. Toyota’s MUV (multi utility vehicle) the Vellfire, has also been gaining popularity. Stars such as Kiara Advani, Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi, Ayushmann Khurrana, Ajay Devgn and Kriti Sanon all have one.
But Rodricks doesn’t think it’s a fair comparison. “It’s a completely different class. It’s more of a luxury minivan and doesn’t come under the SUV segment.”
For now, at least, the Range Rover’s throne remains secure — a symbol that when India’s stars want to make an entrance, they do so from behind the wheel of this car.
Hero Cars of the Past
The ’60s and ’70s saw the rise of Mercedes-Benz, and more muscle cars from the U.S., such as the Mustang, the Charger, and Impala, among the wealthy in India. Actor Shashi Kapoor, for instance, drove a Mercedes 190 SL, which was famously featured in the films Shakespeare Wallah (1966) and Aamne Saamne (1967).
The ’80s and ’90s saw a decrease in bigger cars, following the oil crisis, especially in India. “Even wealthier Indians chose to buy fuel-efficient cars such as the Hondas from Japan. The Nissan 280 was very popular among royalty, like the Maharaja of Barwani,” says Rodricks.
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