Spy Photos: Facelifted Range Rover in the works

Filed under: Spy Photos, SUVs, Land Rover

When you produce one of several bad-ass SUVs available to consumers, there’s no need to mess with a successful formula. So while the Range Rover is due for some cosmetic tweaks, they’re very subtle. Spy shots show the upper-crust truck with the stiff upper lip in action at der Nurburgring, reportedly vetting some powertrains that may not make it to North America. We may see the rumored 5.0-liter V8, but probably not the 3.0-liter diesel. No surprise. The tape job covers up the small changes to the front fascia pretty well, though the grille looks a little different upon closer inspection. But we just can’t get over the image of a Rangie screaming around the track like an angered top hat, no matter what the styling changes are.

[Source: World Car Fans | Photo: Automedia]

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Tata cuts Land Rover production

Filed under: SUVs, Jaguar, Land Rover

Land Rover sales are tanking along with the rest of SUVs sold here in the States and in Europe, but strong sales in China and Russia are keeping Tata’s new luxury SUV brand to within 3% of last year’s sales volume. Encouraging sales in emerging markets isn’t enough, however, for the Indian automaker to keep from cutting production to hedge against a further worsening of market conditions. In an effort to keep production in line with sales, two shifts have been cut from the Solihull Land Rover plant and 300 workers have been moved to the Castle Broomwich Jaguar plant. Tata is also executing production cuts at the Halewood Jaguar factory where the perpetually disappointing X-Type is produced.

With Land Rover making up all the profits between Tata’s two newly owned British Marquees, the Indian automaker is keeping a keen eye on production to make sure the luxury SUV brand continues to bring in profits. If sales begin to slip further, we’d expect Tata to make more drastic cuts, and quickly. Thanks for the tip, Mayur!

[Source: Times of India]

 

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Naval architects float designs for nautical Range Rovers

Filed under: Concept Cars, SUVs, Land Rover, Special/Limited Editions

Luxury sport-utes and yachts go together like champagne and strawberries. The good folk at the Volkswagen Group know that, which is why they came up with the VW Touareg North Sails and Audi Q7 V12 TDI Coastline concepts. But the British aren’t about to leave all the wet n’ wild fun to ze Germans, so they’re cooking up a few sailing-themed SUVs of their own.

In cooperation with Land Rover, luxury yacht broker Edmiston has commissioned seven of the world’s top yacht designers to participate in the Superyacht Range Rover Design Competition. The results of the design regatta will be put to sea (figuratively speaking) at the Monaco Yacht Show next month, at which point the obscenely wealthy may place orders for these bespoke SUVs at prices ranging from $300,000 to $1.2 million.

[Source: CarScoop]

 

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The fate of a Range Rover is in your hands, people

Filed under: SUVs, Contests, Green, Land Rover, Carsumer Advocacy

Click above to watch Ryan’s call to action

Ryan Mickle, seen above and apparently afraid of no ghosts, has had a change of heart since purchasing his Range Rover Sport new in 2006. Since then, gas prices have shot through the roof and fighting climate change has become a favorite global pastime. Seeing that his SUV gets about 13 mpg, Ryan doesn’t want to drive it, doesn’t want to sell it and doesn’t want anyone else to get behind the wheel — ever. Trouble is, he’s not quite sure how to go about it just yet. So, he wants you to help him decide the fate of his SUV. A few initial ideas: catapult it into the Pacific Ocean, blow it up or convert it to a run on either electrons or biodiesel.

We’re hoping that common sense wins out here and the vehicle is somehow saved from such an inauspicious fate as being merely blown to shreds — after all, that’s not very eco-friendly either. While a biodiesel conversion might be fun, we’ll put our official vote on the EV idea. Yank the engine, drop in a nice electric motor and some decent batteries in the rear cargo area… presto-chango, problem solved. Well, maybe it’s a bit more complicated than that. Watch Ryan’s video after the break. Thanks for the tip, everyone!

[Source: One Fewer]

 

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London 2008: Land Rover Announces Diesel ERAD Hybrid, e_Terrain Technologies

Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrids/Alternative, SUVs, Green, Land Rover, Misc. Auto Shows

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Land Rover’s London concepts.

Land Rover’s luxury mud-plugging image isn’t fairing well in an era of high gas prices and eco concerns, so its rolled out two new technologies at the London Motor Show to prove that the automaker has its eye on a sustainable future.

Two LR2 prototypes are on hand featuring a parallel hybrid system mated to a turbo diesel engine. Testing is currently underway and so far, LR has seen a reduction in CO2 emissions by up to 20 percent. The Electric Rear Axle Drive (ERAD), originally shown on the LRX concept, can deliver power to all four wheels through a 288-volt electric motor producing around 150 lb.-ft. of torque. When complete, the system is expected to proliferate across the Land Rover line-up, along with a new lightweight architecture and a refined start-stop system, under the banner of e_Terrain Technologies.

The second development is the Crankshaft Integrated Starter Generator (CISG), which incorporates an electric motor into a dual clutch transmission, giving a boost in torque and starting the diesel mill.

Both systems aren’t going to be ready for primetime for a few more years, but Land Rover’s start-stop technology should find its way to production sometime next year.

[Source: Land Rover]

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