MADRID, Spain – The late Queen Elizabeth II famously used to drive herself about, even well into her 90s. And her ride of choice, more often than not, was a Range Rover – quite a change from the military trucks that, brazenly defying convention, she worked on and drove as part of her wartime service in her youth.

So, the unveiling of the new Range Rover Sport, which I attend the day after Her Majesty’s death on Sept 8, is an especially poignant occasion – conducted with respectful solemnity by a marque that has held a royal warrant for decades.