A new Land Rover Defender is on its way, set to turn up in 2012 or 2013, in exciting news for dedicated Defender fans. The iconic model needs to keep up with the times to stay alive and we should see the traditional aspects of the Defender combined with new technology to meet current safety and emissions standards.

According to Land Rover managing director, Phil Popham, the new Defender will get more versatile and practical in keeping with its spirit. It will be based on the Range Rover Sport and LR4 platform, and should have a 2.7-litre diesel engine on the European market. If gets to the US, the Land Rover defender would be equipped with the new 5.0-litre V8.

Source | Leftlane

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The veteran career of British off-road vehicles takes a new turn with the Land Rover Defender now being released on the Chinese market in a new venture for the brand.

The Chinese market is of fundamental importance generally around the world, and this will be the first ever appearance of the Land Rover Defender special editions Fire and Ice, on Chinese soil. The two versions show differing twin-colour livery to distinguish the differing models.

A total of only 850 units will be produced of the Defender Fire and Ice and all of those will be destined for the Chinese market. Here’s hoping nobody gets the idea of copying them while they’re over there…

Source | AutoExpress

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While the front spoiler is covered by camouflage, the Fiat Grande Punto restyling is here. The Grande Punto now has new air intakes and features below the bonnet. These spy shots come from Auto Evolution, showing the changes to Fiat’s B segment car halfway through its career.

Given the Grande Punto’s success, especially in its home market, the modifications are minimal so as not to upset the winning formula. The front now looks slightly like the Fiat Bravo, head of the new “family feeling” Fiat style. The interior will also be changed slightly with new materials and instrumentation.

Source | Auto Evolution

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Land Rover has created a new Limited Edition series for its Defender model. The two off-road special versions will be called “Fire” and “Ice”. Both are distinguished by a twin colour design and are available in the 90 and 110 wheel base measures.

The Defender Fire will have a ‘Vesuvius Orange’ and ‘Santorini Black’ livery. The black also appears on the Defender Ice, but is combined with ‘Alaska White’. The interiors of the two versions pick up the orange and white in panelled featuring around the central dash commands.

LED lights are included, as is Alcantara upholstery. The Land Rovers Defender Fire and Defender Ice will be made in just 850 units at a cost of 68,400 euros.

Continue reading: Land Rover Defender: Fire and Ice limited editions

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These spy shots of the Land Rover Discovery restyling come from Sweden, as the car prepares for its commercial debut sometime this year.

The updates in look mostly affect the front grill, skirt and mud guards, and the lights, which will see the introduction of LED. In terms of mechanics, the new Discovery will have a 5.0 litre V8 supercharged engine, and we may also see the advent of a 3.0 litre V6 turbodiesel. This latter engine has been presented on the Jaguar XF and also planned for the Citroen C6, Peugeot 607 and Range Rover Sport.

Source | CarAdvice

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The Bell Aurens Longnose offers the more audacious purchaser the option of Rolls Royce Merlin V12 engine at 27 litres - 27 litres!! This re-edition of the Land Rover pre-series III offers a turbo compressor capable of 1,500hp which was used on aeroplane engines in the 40’s.

Another option is the Rover Meteor with a more modest 750hp, included on the A27M Cromwell English tank of 1943. If all this seems completely off the horse power scale and over-the-top, you could go with the conventional Rover V8 Great British at 4.6 and 5.0 litres with 235 and 280hp respectively.

The last Custom option is that of combining to V8’s to form a ten-litre V16 at 700hp, or a smaller eight-litres at 420hp. The Bell Aurens wins hands down any victory on pure power, and includes artisanal, hand-made prodution and luxury materials.

Continue reading: Bell Aurens Longnose: one over-the-top Land Rover

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The market barely got time to read and comment on the Mercedes GL restyling, that rival Range Rover is preparing itself for a face lift, keeping its public happy.

Road tests on the re-styled off-road are taking place in the US and preparations for its debut are becoming fervent, as the presentation is set for spring 2009, perhaps slightly earlier than the German competition.

As for the GL, aesthetic modifications are virtually irrelevant and are concentrated on the front air intake/grill, and the lights both front and rear. Internally, the car will remain the same, and so it’s on to the engines, where we get down to the nitty gritty.

Continue reading: Super-SUV restyling: Range Rover

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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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