Forget Car Restoration. “Backdating” Might Be the Next Big Custom Car Trend

Velvet Motorworks debuted its retro take on resto-modding a…modern-ish Range Rover?

Front view of a white Range Rover with a modern, minimalist design featuring round LED headlights, a black vertical slat grille, and black side mirrors. The vehicle has a clean, boxy shape with the "RANGE ROVER" lettering prominently displayed on the hood. The windshield is tinted, and the tires are rugged, suitable for off-road driving.

Published 7 hours ago

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Have you been yearning for a modern Range Rover with classic vibes but without any of the classic headaches? If so, Velvet Motorworks might have the perfect restomodded car to quell that specific thirst. The custom firm just debuted its latest concept: a refurbished modern-ish third-gen L322 Range Rover, but with vintage touches and themed to look like a Range Rover Classic.

When it comes to restomods, examples of classic vehicles upgraded with contemporary features typically come to mind. Such upgrades often address some of the pitfalls of owning a classic car, or add more up-to-date touches.

The original Range Rover Classic is a timeless and instantly recognizable.

Jaguar-Land Rover

Singer, for instance, starts with old, vintage air-cooled Porsches. Not only do they give it a thorough nut-and-bolt restoration. They also equip their cars with newer, electronic fuel-injected flat-sixes from more recent models.

They’ll also upgrade the brakes, the suspension, tire and wheel combos, and provide the same techniques to the interior. The results are cars that are prime examples of what restored Porsche dreams are made of.

White SUV with a boxy design, tinted windows, black side mirrors, and BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A tires, parked on a dark paved surface with a light sky background. — Velvet Motorworks’ restomod seeks to capture more of the Range Rover Classic’s looks, but in a more modern package.

But Velvet Motorworks has a slightly different approach — one that it refers to as “backdating.”

Velvet Motorworks seeks to restomod older, but more modern Range Rovers with a classic twist

White Range Rover SUV with a boxy, classic design, black tinted windows, and off-road tires, parked on a dark paved surface with a mountainous landscape in the background under a clear sky. — This restomod is still currently in its developmental stages and exists only in renderings, for now.

For VM, it starts with the L322 Range Rover, the third-generation model co-developed with BMW. The company then mechanically restores the vehicle, both inside and out, as with any restoration.

But then, Velvet Motorworks applies a bit of their own magic. The company equips unique headlights with LED day-time running lights that silhouette and mimic the rounded headlight appearance of the original Range Rover.

White Range Rover viewed from the rear, with distinct circular red tail lights and tinted rear window, parked on a dark surface with a hazy mountainous landscape in the background. — Velvet Motorworks blends the best of both the Classic’s and L322’s worlds.

Its team then further reworks the car’s aesthetics to reflect some of the Range Rover Classic’s other unique design elements. For instance, while the L322 Range Rover is already pretty boxy in shape, VM takes it a bit further and adds custom body panels with more squared-off edges.

Its designers also upgraded the front bumpers with slimmer shapes and profiles. They sit more flush, and higher off the ground, which we imagine, helps boost approach and departure angles.

White Range Rover SUV with a boxy, retro design, black grille, circular headlights, and off-road tires, parked on a dark paved surface with a pale sky background. — The distinctive front-end pays heavy tribute to the round headlights of the original Range Rover.

Final touches include rugged all-terrain tires with custom wheels. Although VM didn’t share any renderings of the interior, we imagine some thought also goes into spicing up the L322’s cabin.

The company does mention it upgrades the interior electronics to feature modern gear like Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity, newer safety equipment and more.

Yellow classic Range Rover SUV driving on a road with a rocky, reddish-brown background, featuring round headlights, black grille, and white wheels. — Although outstandingly capable, classic Range Rovers do have the shortcomings.

Under the hood, the firm says it retains the later, facelifted L322’s Jaguar-sourced 5.0-liter supercharged “AJ” V8, rather than the car’s original BMW-sourced 4.4-liter naturally-aspirated “M62” V8. But it does equip a custom active exhaust and other reinforcements to improve on-road handling and off-road capabilities.

White Range Rover SUV viewed from the rear three-quarter angle, parked on a dark paved surface with a misty landscape and water in the background. The vehicle has tinted windows, round rear lights, and off-road tires. — VM hopes to breathe new life into the L322 platform as an unlikely restomod.

Although VM’s Range Rover is only in the conceptualization stages, the company hopes to build its first prototype by the second quarter of 2026. They also do have production goals by the fourth quarter of the same year.

The L322 Range Rover turns 25 next year

Silver Range Rover driving through a shallow river with water splashing around the tires, surrounded by dense green foliage and rocks along the riverbank. — The L322 was revolutionary for both Land Rover and the Range Rover.

Arguably one of the most pivotal moments for Land Rover, the L322 Range Rover was outright revolutionary. It was designed and engineered during BMW’s ownership of the British automaker in the 1990s, prior to Ford’s short reign.

The L322 shared the same unibody platform as the first-generation “E53” BMW X5. That platform was spun-off the same one that also gave us the E39 5 Seri e s and E38 7 Series.

Four Range Rover vehicles are lined up closely side by side, facing forward. The cars vary in color, including black, silver, and blue, and appear to be different model years, showcasing the evolution of the Range Rover design. The background features trees and a softly lit sky, suggesting the photo was taken during sunset or sunrise. — The Range Rover’s lineage spans over a half a century.

As such, the L322’s most iconic engine at launch was the same 4.4-liter V8 powering the E39 540i and E38 740i/iL models. European and other export models received diesel engines from Ford.

Because of its BMW roots, the L322 is the first Range Rover to depart from the previous models’ truck-based body-on-frame platform. It’s also the first Range Rover to utilize fully-independent suspension front and back, and part-time all-wheel drive rather than full-time four-wheel drive.

Four white Range Rover SUVs of different generations are parked on an asphalt surface. The vehicles range from a classic early model with a boxy design to more modern versions with sleek lines and updated features. The closest vehicle has a white body with a black roof, while the others are entirely white. — Despite significant redesigns, the Range Rover remains distinctive and unmistakable.

It’s also the first Range Rover geared more towards balancing on-road performance and off-road capabilities.

The L322 lived an interesting life. Despite its origins with BMW, it eventually received upgrades from Jaguar.

Those updates occurred for its mid-cycle refresh in 2006. That update coincided with the time when Jaguar bought the rights to Land Rover from Ford Motor Company. That transaction formed what’s known today as Jaguar-Land Rover, which was also sold to India’s Tata Motors at the time.

Silver Range Rover driving through a muddy, water-filled dirt track in a grassy, open landscape under a blue sky with scattered clouds. The vehicle's front is splattered with mud, and two people are visible inside. — The L322 is the first Range Rover to utilize a car-based unibody platform.

The L322’s mid-cycle update led it to ditch BMW’s V8 for Jaguar’s 5.0-liter supercharged V8 — a move some will argue is backwards.

Nonetheless, the L322 Range Rover remains a huge and historically pivotal mark in the model’s history. It’s why the L322 remains a favorite among Range Rover fans.

And because of this, we can totally understand and back the inspiration behind Velvet Motorworks’ latest efforts.

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