2012 Range Rover The Amazing Sports Car Land Rover

A new model year brings about new features to all Land Rover vehicles, and 2012 is no different. Most notably, both the Range Rover Sport and LR4 will now be offered with a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, paired with a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 engine. The V8 mills, however, still employ the services of a six-speed cogswapper.

2012 Range Rover Sport Wallpaper

2012 Range Rover Sport Wallpaper

2012 Range Rover Sport Wallpaper

IMPROVED FEATURES FOR RANGE ROVER SPORT IN 2012

• Power increased to 256PS on higher power 3.0-litre diesel.
• Substantial CO2 reductions to EU5 diesel engine range.
• New ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox with rotary gear shift selector and paddle shift.
• Dual View touch-screen available for the first time.
• WhiteFireTM wireless technology enhances rear seat entertainment.
• Introduction of MOST Gen 2.1 electrical architecture.
• 825W audio system powers the Premium Harmon Kardon LOGIC 7.
• 'Say What You See' voice command system.
• New powered tailgate.
• Revised interiors and enhanced design for Autobiography and Limited Edition.




U.S.-bound Range Rovers get a number of important improvements – including an updated interior with dual-view touchscreen audio/entertainment that makes it possible for the driver to use the GPS while passengers watch a DVD – plus wireless headphones and other good stuff.

But 33 MPG? forget about it.

Don’t blame Land Rover, though – blame the (note, not our) government. for making it hard-to-economically-and-otherwise-impossible for the car companies to bring the diesel engines they sell in export markets to this market. (See here for more on this business.)

What was it Barry said about the importance of increasing fuel economy… ?

Never mind

The 2012 Range Rover Sport will offer a brand-new 3 liter turbodiesel engine and eight speed automatic capable of 33 MPG.

Oh. Wait a sec. It just won’t be offered here. It’s a Euro-only deal.

WHAT IT IS

The Range Rover Sport is – you guessed it – a sporty (and slightly smaller) version of the Range Rover, the high-end, full-size 4WD SUV built by Land Rover. It’s about half a foot shorter, four inches narrower through the hips and weighs about 150 pounds less than than the regular Range Rover.

It’s also a lot less expensive.

Though at the time of this review, Land Rover hadn’t released official MSRPs for the 2012s, the current (2011) carries a sticker price of $59,645 for the HSE and $73,345 for the more powerful supercharged version – vs. $78,425 for the regular (slightly larger) Range Rover and $94,275 for the supercharged version.

WHAT’S NEW FOR 2012

UK and other Euro-markets get an all-new 3 liter turbodiesel engine capable of an astounding (to us bedraggled Americans) 33 MPG on the highway – only a few MPGs off the pace of a current-year compact economy sedan. But it won’t be sold in the United States, apparently because of compliance-related issues having to do with our “clean diesel” rules.

But we do get the new Dual View monitor, wireless audio reception, a power tailgate and (later in 2012) special Autobiography and Limited edition trim packages.

WHAT’S GOOD

About half the price of a Benz Gelandewagen (the only other uber-premium SUV that matches the RR’s cachet as well as its off-road prowess).

Supercharged version is $30k less than a Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

Acceleration now appropriate to price – and better than some of the comparably priced competition

Handles better, easier to park/maneuver than the standard (larger/heavier) Range Rover – while giving up nothing as far as presence/exclusivity and features/amenities.

Tremendous off-road capability.

WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD

No 33 MPG for us. We get 13 MPG.

Headroom’s a little tighter than in the Range Rover (the price you pay for the Range Rover Sport’s extra sportiness).

Gas mileage (13 city for the non-supercharged version) limits the range of this Rover – even with a 23.3 gallon tank. It’s not hard to run it dry in 200 miles of real-world driving.

Fill-ups are forbidding – even for the affluent clientele that shops Land Rovers: About $70 a pop at current prices of $3.40 per gallon.

All that technology…. scares me. When the warranty runs out… watch out!

UNDER THE HOOD

The 2012 Range Rover Sport comes standard with a 5 liter V-8, with a supercharged version optional. Without the supercharger, the V-8 produces 375 horsepower. With it, the power jumps to 510 hp – making it one of the strongest engines available in a high-end SUV.

For some perspective: Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo delivers 500 hp – 10 hp less – than the supercharged Rover. But it costs more. A whole lot more: $106,000. That’s $30,000 in your pocket. Even at this level – for people with serious means – that is serious money.

The Mercedes-Benz GL550 4Matic, another competitor, starts at $84,450 but gives you just 382 hp – not even in the same league as the supercharged RR and pretty much dead even with the base ($59k) non-supercharged RR. It also can’t match the RR’s moves off-road, given its much more street-minded 4-Matic AWD system. And the Mercedes model that can match the RR off-road – the G550 Gelandewagon – is a top-heavy on-road nightmare (the Mercedes Hummer H1 Alpha) that starts at $105,750.

With the standard 5 liter, 375 hp V-8, the Range Rover Sport accelerates from 0-60 as quickly as the 2009 supercharged Range Rover sport (7.2 seconds). With the supercharged version of the 5 liter engine, the 0-60 time drops to an extremely quick 5.9 seconds – quicker than the price-comparable Cayenne GTS (6.1 seconds for $72,400) and enough to harry the enormously more expensive six-figure Cayenne Turbo (4.9 seconds).

On the upside, gas mileage for the ’12 RR is actually slightly better than in the last-generation RR – even though the new model has larger and much more powerful engines. The non-supercharged 5 liter V-8 manages 13 city, 18 highway vs. the old RR’s slurpalicious 12 city, 18 highway.

On the downside, it is still shockingly consumptive – worse than a ’69 Chrysler Newport 440 in need of a tuneup.

Both versions of the 5 liter V-8s are teamed up with a six-speed automatic transmission and Land Rover’s impressively capable full-time Terrain Sensing 4WD system, which comes with multiple settings for different types of conditions such as Mud and Snow, Sand and Rock Crawl – as well as driver-selectable 4WD Low range gearing. There’s also a height-adjustable suspension that can raised or lowered by depressing a switch on the center console.

Maximum trailer towing capacity is 7,700 lbs. – same as the Cayenne but more than twice the Benz G500′s startlingly meager 3,500 pound rating.

ON THE ROAD

The previous Range Rover Sport with the 300 hp 4.4 V-8 was on the borderline side of slow – at least, for a vehicle at the top of the proverbial food chain in terms of brand status and snob appeal.

It took the 4.4-equipped RR Sport about 8.2 seconds to reach 60 – about what a Toyota Corolla can manage. No one who buys a nearly $60k (to start) vehicle wants to be looking at the bumper of a $13k car leaving you in the dust.

The Range Rover’s just to heavy for even 300 hp to be sufficient. In ’09, it was almost mandatory to buy the much more expensive supercharged version – which even then wasn’t actually quick, just acceptable.

So, the fact that there’s 375 hp under the hood of the as-it-sits RR is happy news – and not only because it makes the standard RR quick enough and responsive enough to stand up to Porsches.

The broader point is it’s no longer essential to spend the additional $14K to upgrade to the supercharged version. The 510 hp supercharged engine is truly optional – in the sense that it’s something you decide to buy because you want vertebrae-adjusting speed, not merely enough reserve on tap to pull safely onto a busy road or make a fast pass.

The other aspect of the RR is that, relatively speaking, its handling is indeed sporty – at least, much more so than the very capable off-road but horribly clumsy on-road Mercedes Gelandewagen. That thing is a beast – one of the few new SUVs you can buy that still feels as though it might roll over taking corners at even normal, posted speeds. The traction/stability control system comes on constantly if the G is driven even a little bit aggressively on asphalt. There’s really no comparison; the RR is exponentially more civilized – yet it’s as or even more capable of hitting the dirt (or crawling over rocks) as the Benz G.

The Cayenne beats the RR on-road, with 911-sharp steering and excellent reflexes overall. But it’s more car-like design limits what it can do off-road (at least relative to the hunky Range Rover). If you really do need 4WD go-anywhere toughness, it’s advantage RR.

A wild card: The Lexus GX460 offers similarly poised on-road manners as well as billy goat off-road capability, but like the previous RR, the Lexus is underpowered, with just a 301 hp 4.6 liter V-8 under its hood (and no stronger optional V-8 available). On the other hand, it’s (for this class) cheap: $57,840 – top of the line and loaded. But on the other hand, it’s nothing-special looking and can’t come close to matching the presence/curb appeal of the handsome RR.

All in all, nothing else out there can match the straight-line acceleration (even in base trim), off-road bona fides and curb appeal of the Range Rover Sport – at least, not for $59k and change to start.


AT THE CURB

Land Rovers have a classic upright/boxy shape you either like – or don’t. The current model could be parked next to a 1970s-era model and though there are numerous small changes and upgrades, the basic profile is like father-to-son.
It’s a handsome vehicle in my opinion. Not brutal-looking like the Benz G-Class (a vehicle whose military origins are obvious) or minivan-looking (like the GL Class).

It stands out, too – something the plain-looking Lexus GX460 doesn’t do.

The Cayenne’s got similar curb appeal – but it also has the price tag.

Size-wise, the RR Sport is physically smaller than the standard Range Rover (the RR Sport’s wheelbase is 108 inches vs. 113.3 for the standard RR) but visually it’s hard to tell the difference unless you park them side-by-side.

In no way does the RR Sport seem less substantial or downgraded.
Both the RR Sport and the regular Range Rover seat five and – surprisingly – there’s actually more front and rear seat legroom in the physically smaller RR Sport than in the larger overall regular Range Rover (42.4 inches/front seat legroom vs. 38.9 inches and 37.6 inches of rear seat legroom vs. 35.5). Headroom is tighter in the Sport, though (38.5 inches up front vs. 39.3 in the regular Rover) which can be a problem for taller drivers.

Cargo capacity is almost identical: 71 cubic feet for the RR Sport vs. 74 cubic feet for the regular Range Rover.

The fact that the Sport has about the same interior/cargo room as the larger-on-the-outside standard Range Rover is pretty cool. The fact that it handles/maneuvers more nimbly as a result of its arguably better use of space even more so.

You don’t really lose anything by going with the RR Sport over the regular Range Rover – except sheer bulk and perhaps a bit of off-road capability under extreme conditions (the regular RR has a bit more ground clearance and its wheel/tire packages are more dirt-oriented than the aggressive performance rubber fitted to the RR Sport).

THE REST

The Range Rover appears to be meticulously put-together but it is a very complex vehicle with extremely complex sub-systems, including the computer-controlled Terrain Sensing 4WD and the new state-of-the-art split-screen GPS/entertainment unit and wireless headphones.

Previous Land Rover models have sometimes had bugs and could sometimes be unusually expensive to maintain. That said, there’s a helluva cushion built into the RR Sport’s $59k starting price – which is nearly $20k less than the base price of the larger on the outside but otherwise very similar standard Range Rover.

That makes up for a lot, even if some bugs do crop up.

Land Rover provides a better-than-average four-year, 50,000 mile basic/powertrain warranty, too – which roughly tracks when most typical Range Rover buyers would be about ready to trade-in.

Safety-wise, the RR comes with “everything” – including Hill Descent Control (electronically controls throttle and brake action to prevent the RR from building up excessive speed going down a steep grade) and (in supercharged versions) an emergency braking function that will slow (and even stop) the vehicle automatically if the cruise control is on and the driver doesn’t notice traffic slowing down and begin to brake on his own.

THE BOTTOM LINE

It’s a bit weird to be talking about any vehicle with a nearly $60k starting price as a “bargain” – but that’s what the Range Rover Sport is.

It’s just a crying shame that we won’t get our hands on the turbodiesel engine the Europeans will have access to.

A 33 MPG Range Rover? That would be killer. Read More...

Land Rover reveals the Evoque

Here's the production 2012 Range Rover Evoque in all its glory, and the LRX-inspired CUV is lighter, meaner and greener than anything to come from the Range Rover arsenal.

Buyers can opt for three exterior design themes: Pure, a minimalistic take with 19-inch wheels and natural colors complemented by brushed metal trim adorning the insides; Prestige, a "bespoke exterior" treatment with exclusive 19-inch wheels paired "an indulgent interior;" or Dynamic, with 19- or 20-inch wheels a reworked bodykit, and a sportier cabin complete with perforated leather seats and a bit more bling.

Inside, the interior is influenced not only by the Range Rover Sport, but by Jaguar as well. Seriously bolstered seats straddle a center tunnel where a rotary gear transmission selector rises to hand. The four-setting Terrain Response System dial has been replaced with buttons attending an illuminated menu and controls are mainly managed through an eight-inch touchscreen. Aural enjoyment is provided by the 825-watt, 17-speaker Meridian sound system with additional inputs for other peripherals.

Underneath the Evoque's hood is a 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine that, naturally, is not called EcoBoost. Referred to as the Si4, it's been developed for North American audiences and produces 240 horsepower that runs through a six-speed automatic transmission. Electric power steering is standard, a regenerative electrical system captures energy when things get hauled down and everything is kept on an even keel thanks to a MagneRide adaptive dynamics suspension. Read More...

Review: 2010 Range Rover Sport Supercharged

Despite enduring a string of financial hardships, Land Rover still enjoys one of the clearest and most robust brand identities in the automotive kingdom. The English automaker has held the same core values since the company's first off-roader was created by Maurice Wilks in 1948. Wilks reportedly designed the first Land Rover to emulate a Jeep he had driven, and the first Land Rover prototype actually utilized a chassis borrowed from that legendary American off-roader. And much like Jeep, when you think of Land Rover, the words rugged, purpose-built, and capable are sure to come to mind, but the two storied marques part company when it comes to luxury amenities. England's four-wheeling pride and joy can be found in places like Africa, the Middle East, Australia's Outback and as well as the ritziest precincts of Beverly Hills and Monte Carlo.

While the core identity of Land Rover hasn't deviated much over the years, its product lineup has grown substantially. After Ford purchased Land Rover from BMW in 2000, the brand added the supremely capable LR4 and Range Rover Sport to a struggling lineup. The Sport traces its looks and name to the top-end Range Rover model, but its underpinnings are actually based on the LR4, with an integrated bodyframe semi-monocoque construction for a combination of rough and ready off-roading and good noise isolation characteristics.

The sportiest of Range Rovers has been a solid entry in the luxury mountain climbing segment for a half-decade, but the folks at Land Rover have given the Sport a very thorough update for 2010 to help it live up to fast and flashy new competitors like the Porsche Cayenne and BMW's X5/X6 M twins. We were able to get our hands on a new 2010 Range Rover Sport with the company's new Jaguar-derived supercharged 5.0-liter V8 to see if it's as accomplished on paved streets as it is off-road.

When we say that the Range Rover Sport has been updated for 2010, we mean thoroughly overhauled. It may not look all that different on the outside, but among the upgrades for 2010 are a pair of more powerful engines, a new six-speed automatic transmission and comprehensive – if subtle – alterations to the accommodations. Exterior changes include new, impressive-looking LED-encrusted headlights and taillights that give the Sport a more commanding presence on the road. Other than the new lights, though, the Range Rover Sport looks nearly identical to the model it replaces, which is just fine with us. Range Rover's classic design remains the black tuxedo of the luxury SUV set, with an intrinsically tough-looking stance and manly lines throughout. Our completely loaded Bournville (fancy word for really dark brown) Range Rover Sport carried an MSRP of $82,345 with standard navigation and moonroof, along with every option box checked, including rear-seat DVD, upgraded 20-inch wheels and HD Radio. A hefty price tag to be sure, but is it worth it?

On the inside, we'd say yes... for the most part. Land Rover started with the familial cockpit layout that's become a staple of the marque, along with upgraded materials and a host technological improvements. High-grade leather is present just about anywhere your hand falls and the use of matte finish woods is among the best we've ever seen. Seemingly everybody we transported during our week with the vehicle wanted to touch the trim for themselves, as evidenced by the multitude of fingerprints on the leathery dash. We can't blame anyone for getting a case of the fondles (*ahem*) when sitting in the front seat of the Land Rover, as we can't recall a vehicle with better materials at this (lofty) price point. Land Rover has even swapped out the seats for 2010, and the new, deeper thrones have ample electronic-controlled bolstering to keep your butt planted during aggressive driving.




One of the things we didn't like about past Land Rover interiors was their labyrinthine maze of buttons splayed across the center console. We apparently weren't alone in disliking the button-palooza, as Tata Motors' luxury SUV outfit has cut 50 percent of its overall press-points for 2010, and the remaining switchgear is easy-to-reach and a snap to navigate. And speaking of navigation, our Range Rover Sport tester came standard with a seven-inch touchscreen nav/infotainment unit, a no-brainer for an adventure-ready $82,000 luxury SUV. We'd love to tell you the nav was a hoot to use, but unfortunately, that was far from the case.

For starters, the screen is smaller than the one you can find in other vehicles at half the price, and its slight stature is amplified by the fact that the Range Rover control array is the Spruce Goose of center stacks. We'd be able to overlook this one problem if the system was responsive and easy to use. Again, not so much. Every time we touched the screen, there was a persistent latency between contact and execution of the command. Our fully-loaded tester also came with LR's optional rear-seat entertainment package. When we saw a pair of massive LCD screens embedded into the back of the front seat headrests, we immediately thought the kids were in for a treat. What we didn't anticipate was how big of a headache it was going to be to pop in a DVD for the kids to enjoy while we have our way with the 510 horsepower manwagon.




When it came time to take the family for a ride, we loaded up the kids along with a copy of The Pink Panther. After everyone piled into the gorgeously appointed SUV, Dad opened the glove box to insert the DVD. Nothing there. Maybe the CD slot in the dash doubles as a DVD reader? Nope. Oh, then it must be hiding beneath the center armrest. Again, no. Luckily, we had a 13 year-old in the back seat. Anything back there? Under the seat? Nope. We checked the manual (no mention) and we looked in the trunk. Nothing. After wasting a half hour of our lives, we made a call to editor Paukert for some council. Paukert reminded us that older Range Rovers used to have a small, obscure access panel in the boot above the passenger-side rear tire well.

We ventured outside one more time to take a look, and wouldn't you know it, there was a tiny access panel staring us right in the face. We'd seen the panel before, but assumed that it was just too small to be anything but a fuse box. Unfortunately, we were wrong. Nestled into the panel ever so tightly was a six-DVD changer buried deep into a dark, narrow sarcophagus. After a couple of minutes of jostling, we were able to pry out a flimsy cartridge. The Pink Panther was inserted and the kids re-entered the vehicle. We then fooled around with the LCD interface for five minutes before realizing that we had to labor through the nav interface to turn on each headrest-mounted LCD before playing the DVD. Now we know what it feels like to be Santa Claus at a Philadelphia Eagles game. Needless to say, we subsequently watched the same movie every time the family was in the vehicle, and we're pretty sure the disc was still in the boot when it was picked up. And to think that the rear-seat entertainment package is the most expensive Range Rover Sport option at $2,500. Ouch. Fortunately, the Range Rover Sport was much more enjoyable once we actually started driving.



Getting behind the wheel of a Range Rover Sport is a bit like entering a Brinks truck, albeit a very nicely appointed one. It's hard not to feel invincible from the moment you close the doors with a confidence-inspiring thud and stare out the front window only to revel in your commanding seating position. And those new seats? They're a fitting reward for the driver who plops down 82-large. The chairs are Lazy Boy-comfy but with very respectable bolstering for a 5,900 pound utility vehicle. And as we would soon find out, said bolstering is very welcome given the Range Rover Sport's extraordinarily powerful drivetrain.

The biggest aspect of the Sport's refresh is a pair of completely new powertrains, and we were lucky enough to get the direct injected, supercharged 5.0-liter mill under the bonnet of our tester. With 510 horsepower and 461 pound-feet of thrust, our tester felt more like a supersized sportwagon than a massive SUV. Land Rover claims a 0-60 mph time of 5.9 seconds, and after one stab at the throttle, we can attest to the accuracy of that time. The Eaton-sourced twin-vortex supercharger is 16 percent more efficient than the booster it replaces, giving the RR Sport another 135 ponies (versus the naturally aspirated model) while still passing ULEV2 emissions regulations. The new engines figure to be more reliable, too, and they carry 15,000-mile service intervals, effectively doubling the amount of regal mud bogging between dealer visits. Land Rover went to ZF for its newest transmission, and the HP28 six-speed unit is a very smooth operator. Paddle-shifters were on-hand, but we had no desire to use them more than once thanks to the engine's surplus of torque.



And just because the RR Sport weighs in at nearly three tons doesn't mean that Land Rover has built a sloppy cornerer. LR hasn't obliterated any longstanding laws of physics, but by adding adaptive vehicle dynamics, it's helped bend some rules. The Landie's DampTronic valve tech monitors and optimizes damper pressure 500 times per second, helping even first-time drivers feel confident and controlled behind the wheel. Steering feel has also been improved by stiffening the front suspension's lower arm bushings.

While we certainly couldn't verify Land Rover's claim of 500x per second damping pressure monitoring, we can tell you that the sporty Range Rover feels very surefooted in a wide variety of driving conditions and during aggressive driving. We were pleasantly surprised at how flat this beast is under hard cornering – it's like Land Rover built a tank that was specifically designed for slaloms. Actually, tank-like is a great way to describe the feeling we got when behind the wheel, but not in a laboring, trench warfare way. More like, this is as close as the English could come to duplicating the Abrams Tank while still retaining the driving dynamics of a vehicle much smaller than it really is. The steering is nicely weighted and has some level of feedback, though it won't be confused with a Porsche Cayenne any time soon. The Range Rover's five spoke, 20-inch wheels fill out the wells just fine, and the 14.2-inch ventilated rotors up front and 13.8-inch stoppers at the rear provide enough fade-free stopping power to keep your Land Rover from dancing with bumpers or boulders.



The Land Rover Sport may have the heart of an on-road athlete, but it is constructed to excel off-road even more than it does on pavement. Every Range Rover Sport comes with Land Rover's Terrain Response system; a dial with six settings for varying driving conditions. The driver can select from settings including general driving, sand (new for 2010), rock crawl, mud and ruts, and grass/gravel/snow. The other all-new setting, which is only available on the supercharged model, is Dynamic Program, which tightens steering and body control while also reconfiguring the stability control system for snappier responses. Select this option and Land Rover promises that you'll enjoy a more athletic on-road driving experience. We found Dynamic Program to have improved steering and throttle response, but a single performance-inspired setting does not a 3 Series-fighter make. It does, however, result in a confident-handling luxury SUV. Our favorite setting was the winter detent, because Southeast Michigan received about two inches of snow right when we took delivery of our tester. While the settings didn't cut out sliding and slipping altogether, it did a fantastic job of keeping us on the straight and narrow.

Since our test model had every available option, we were also able to test Land Rover's adaptive cruise control. While we're not huge fans of most adaptive cruise systems, we were very happy that Land Rover has done an excellent job of making the system easy-to-use. If you find yourself slowing down too far from the vehicle in front of you on the highway, simply slick a steering wheel-mounted button to decrease the trailing distance. A five-inch, grayscale LCD located in the gauge cluster shows the driver which setting he or she is using. Keep in mind, though, that unlike some advanced adaptive cruise systems that will bring a vehicle to a complete stop if the radar system senses an object in its direct path, in our experience, Land Rover's system will slow the Sport to about 10 mph. From there, it's up to the driver and those capable brakes to bring the Sport to a complete stop.



On the efficiency front, Land Rover says that the 2010 Sport is more economical than the model it replaces, which is no surprise when considering how thirsty the outgoing model was. Our time with the RR Sport added up to fuel economy of about 13 miles-per-gallon in mixed yet spirited driving. The EPA says you should expect 17 mpg on the highway and 12 mpg in the city, so don't trade in the family Mini just yet.

In the end, it's hard not to love the Range Rover Sport because it remains straightforward in what it promises and diligent in ensuring that those promises are kept. The new model delivers with luxurious appointments and vastly improved performance while honoring a 60-year tradition of off-road capability. Mix in the boxy good looks that come standard on every Gaydon gladiator, and we couldn't help but fall for this Land Rover quite a bit. Okay, so we didn't take our tester on safari, but it did everything we asked of it during our time in the urban jungle. Like us, we suspect that most Range Rover Sport owners won't often take the road less traveled, though we're sure the ability to easily hurdle a cement parking barrier in complete luxury is a fine ability to have should the need ever arise.

[Source: Autoblog] Read More...

Land Rover confirms two-door LRX for production

Land Rover has today confirmed what we've long expected – the popular LRX Concept from the 2008 edition of the Detroit Auto Show is headed for production. The British-born automaker doesn't actually say the new 'ute will be called the LRX when it hits the market in 2011, but it will definitely be wearing a Range Rover badge and therefore likely be marketed as a premium vehicle.

No details are given about the coupe-like SUV's powertrain, but Land Rover does say the it "will be the smallest, lightest and most efficient vehicle the company has ever produced." Previous reports have suggested the production LRX will share underpinnings with the LR2 (a.k.a. the Freelander) and will be offered with an optional all-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain that may use an electric motor to power the rear wheels and a transverse engine underhood driving the front wheels.

Judging from the lone rendering released with this announcement, the basic shape from the LRX Concept should survive mostly intact, perhaps gaining a slightly more pronounced front fascia to go along with the production-necessary external door handles. Expect more details to filter out at the beginning of 2010

[Source: Land Rover]



PRESS RELEASE

SMALL RANGE ROVER CONFIRMED FOR PRODUCTION

Gaydon, Warwickshire, 24 September 2009 – Land Rover has confirmed today that a production version of its exciting LRX concept car will be built. The new car will debut next year and join the Range Rover line-up in 2011.

Designed and engineered at Land Rover's state of the art Gaydon facility, the new Range Rover will be the smallest, lightest and most efficient vehicle the company has ever produced.

The new car will be built at the multi award-winning plant in Halewood, on Merseyside, subject to quality and productivity agreements and will be sold in over 100 countries around the world.

Phil Popham, managing director of Land Rover said: "The production of a small Range Rover model is excellent news for our employees, dealers and customers. It is a demonstration of our commitment to investing for the future, to continue to deliver relevant vehicles for our customers, with the outstanding breadth of capability for which we are world-renowned."

"Feedback from our customer research also fully supports our belief that a production version of the LRX Concept would further raise the desirability of our brand and absolutely meet their expectations." Phil added.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover design director said "The new vehicle will be a natural extension to the Range Rover line-up, complementing the existing models and helping to define a new segment. It will be true to the concept and have many recognisable Range Rover design cues including the signature clamshell bonnet, the floating roof and the solid 'wheel-at-each-corner' stance."

More details of the new small Range Rover will be released next year. Read More...