Curioser and curioser: Range Rover has been more talked about in the last week than in the entire month of March, and we mean to exclusion of the financial manouvres. In any case, after the first spy shots of the Discovery’s restyling, and Defender SVX’s performance, news reported by Leftlane appears improbable. According to the site’s photography sources, Range Rover is apparently gearing-up to equip its vehicles with a V12.

Continue reading: Range Rover: V12 or V8?

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Given the success encountered at both Detroit and Geneva, the news that Land Rover will produce the LRX was a given, although there are plenty of differences to the concept car. The first macroscopic difference is the presence of the rear doors - this is a five-door version not seen on the prototype.

The second regards market position. Given what AutoExpress has written, we can expect an up-market version of the Freelander more adapted to competition with the Mercedes GLK, the Audi Q5 and the BMW X3. A big focus will be placed on reducing emissions with a stop-start system and a possible future hybrid version.

Aesthetically the car will keep the nice LRX nose although it will be slightly higher to allow for the rear passengers. But the overall effect will be that the car sits lower than the Freelander. The interior will change notably from the concept car: gone is the extravangant cabin to be replaced by a carryover from the Freelander.

Continue reading: Land Rover: the LRX will be manufactured

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Rumors have been circulating for a while about a replacement for Jaguar’s and Land Rover’s “immortal” 4.2 engine: a new 5.0 V8 engine will soon find a home under the hood of the british marques’ new models. This new engine still remains shrouded in a degree of mystery: with a capacity of 4,997 cm3 it should be able to churn out 350 hp in the normally-aspirated version and around 460 hp in the supercharged one: quite a leap in performance compared to current V8s, with the added bouns of a decrease in emissions. However, this may not be the only piece of motoring news concerning Land Rover, given that the new baby Freelander, inspired by the concept of the LRX, could be equipped with a diesel hybrid drivetrain: what is more, it has been let out the bag that the 2009 Freelander will be geared with Stop-Start technology.

Via | Car

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Today Auto Motor und Sport published the first official images of the Land Rover LRX Concept that will be shown for the first time at the 2008 NAIAS in Detroit.

The LRX is a two-door crossover with a coupè-like body that previews the future small Land Rover, which will be positioned under the Freelander. The production version is expected to make its debut in spring 2009.

The car measures 435 cm in length and 155 in height, being shorter but, above all, quite a bit lower than the Freelander. The concept has aggressive air intakes, 20″ rims and narrow head lights. In the side view there is a notably high belt line which creates along with the sloping roof profile a small glass surface, similar to a sports car one.

Continue reading: Land Rover LRX Concept: first official images

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More photos and details on the Land Rover Freelander 2. It will be available in Europe at the end of 2006, with prices starting from 30.000 €. Performance and engine data is available in the previous post (a 3.2 liters V6 gasoline engine outputting 233 ps, a 2.2 liters turbo-diesel with 160 ps).

The Freelander 2 will grow by 77 mm in length (4.50 meters), by 101 mm in width (1.91 m - 2.18 m with mirrors) and by 23 mm in height (1.82 or 1.74 m, depending on whether roof rails are present). The luggage comparment has a capacity of 755 liters.

The 4WD system is based on a Haldex multi-disk clutch. In optimal conditions, torque will be going almost exclusively to the front axle. When needed, the Haldex clutch will transfer torque to the rear axle. The response time is 150 ms, but the clutch can be “pre-loaded”, thanks to the PreX system, already seen on the Volvo XC90.

The Freelander 2 will be available with alloy rims going from 16″ to 19″, (tyres from 215/75R16 to 235/55R19).

Via | km77.com, which also has plenty of high-res photosy.

Continue reading: Land Rover Freelander - more photos and data

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The official pictures of the Land Rover Freelander II are out. As expected, it takes its cues from the Range Rover and from the LR3 (headlights, grille and so forth). It has also grown in length by 5 cm.

Big news also under the hood: a 3.2-liters V6 gasoline engine that outputs 233 ps that can take the Freelander from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.9 seconds, while the average fuel consumption is 11.2 liters/100 km; a 2.2-liters turbo-diesel engine that outputs 160 ps, with a torque of 400 Nm and an average fuel consumption of 7.5 liters/100 km (available also with a particulate filter).

The Freelander will be available either with a 6-speed manual gearbox or with an automatic transmission. Traction is on all 4 wheels, obviously, with systems such as Terrain Response, an integrated control system for the suspensions, torque redirection and hill descent already seen on the Range M.Y. 2007 and Gradient Release Control (that assists the driver when releasing the brakes on slippery slopes).
Via | Infomotori

Continue reading: Land Rover Freelander - official images

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The Range Rover M.Y. 2007 will debut on the market at the end of this year, with news both on the engine and on the equipment front.

The biggest novelty is the disappearance of the BMW-heritage 3.0 V6 turbo-diesel engine with 208 hp, replaced by the new V8 turbo-diesel engine developed by Ford Group, with a 3.6 liters capacity. It outputs 272 ps and has 640 Nm of torque.

There’s a big improvement in performance: from 0-100 km/h it takes only 8.5 seconds (compared to 12.7 for the TDv6), top speed goes from 194 to 200 km/h (electronically limited), while fuel consumption is, according to Land Rover, surprisingly unvaried. The engine is coupled to a six-speed automatic gearbox, while braking is supplied by the same oversized Brembo system as the Supercharged Range.

Another novelty is the “Terrain Response” system, that integrates control of the suspensions, torque and the hill descent speed, with 5 different settings for on and off-road driving. The interior will feature a new, more luxurious dashboard, the disappearance of the handbrake lever (now operated electrically by a push-button) and new sound-proof windows (-6 dB).
Via | Omniauto

Continue reading: Range Rover M.Y. 2007 - with a V8 turbo-diesel engine

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MPH publishes a couple of new Land Rover Freelander spyshots. The family feeling with the new Range and Discovery III is marked, and the new Freelander seems to have the what it takes to compete in a market that might soon be very crowded: BMW X3, Mercedes MLK, Volvo XC50, Audi Q5, Baby Cayenne, ecc (links to our Italian language version).

It remains to be seen how the Ford Group C1 platform (used in the european Focus, in the Volvo S40/V50 and in the Mazda 3) performs offroad. The engines will be probably taken from the Volvo range, with 5 and 6 cylinder gasoline engines and, probably the 2.4 D5 diesel engine from Volvo (which outputs up to 185 hp).

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