For a man who said not a word, in public at least, Daniel Craig, aka James Bond, aka 007, made quite an impact on the launch of the new Range Rover Sport on the eve of the New York motor show tonight.

By merely driving the car down a few closed streets in Manhattan (thank you NYPD), parking it a few feet off the intended stopping point and then posing for a few, unsmiling pictures he managed to whip the audience in to something of a frenzy – and secure Land Rover’s new showroom star column inches around the world.

It could have gone so wrong. The logistics of a live broadcast in a city centre are, presumably, a nightmare. So too could it be easy to get a wrong reaction from the audience – although from the whooping and hollering I reckon the New York crowd is probably easier to please than most.

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Yet it’s very easy to be cynical about these things, especially when you get to watch the attending celebrities, many of whom international audiences had never heard of, pout and pose down the red carpet.

But Land Rover played it well, both with the choice of Craig, a no nonsense action man in the spirit of the Range Rover Sport itself, and by putting an emphasis on its own web broadcast, which reminded even the highest flying guest that the evening was about more than just them.

Overall, it was a short, sweet presentation of a new car that I reckon has the looks and presence to wow. The unveiling had drama, glitz and a decent rub of risk – all the sorts of qualities that Land Rover should be proud to be associated with.

And now the hoopla has calmed down, you can read the full technical story of the new car, an exclusive Q&A with designer Gerry McGovern and enjoy our first impressions of the car from the passenger seat.