Land Rover Threw A Swanky Party On A NYC Aircraft Carrier To Show Off Its New Car

The New York International Auto Show opens to the press on Wednesday, and automakers have packed this week with events and parties in an effort to secure some publicity.

Land Rover kicked things off with a bang on Monday night with the reveal of its Discovery Vision Concept, a sleek new take on the boxy Discovery SUV that's been around since the late 1980s.

The British luxury brand, owned by India's Tata Motors, went all out for the reveal, hosting an evening event at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, on the retired aircraft carrier permanently docked on the Hudson River.

After drinks, guests were hustled onto the Intrepid's airplane elevators, once used to move planes between the flight deck and hangar deck. With everyone in place, Land Rover cued a light show, projected against the ship, and pulled back the curtain on the Discovery concept.

At the event, Land Rover also announced a partnership with Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's commercial space venture. The luxury SUVs will be used to shuttle Virgin's customers around its operational base in New Mexico and its test center in California.

For the event, Virgin brought along a full-size replica of SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise, the 60-foot spacecraft that will carry two crew members and six passengers out of the atmosphere.

Watch the reveal:

The Discovery concept is pretty slick:

Waiting for the reveal:

The ensuing rush for photographs: