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Land Rover’s new compact Range Rover – on sale next year – will be the firm’s first vehicle to be offered in two-wheel drive format.

Destined to be the lightest, most fuel efficient Range Rover ever, with claimed CO2 emissions of less than 130g/km, the new vehicle will be based on the LRX concept that was revealed two years ago.

Of course, it will also be offered in four-wheel drive form, Land Rover revealed. One thing that isn’t being revealed is the new car’s name – we wil have to wait until the summer to find out what it will be called.

Phil Popham, Land Rover’s managing director, said: “This is good news for the company and for our customers. A two-wheel drive option is just one way in which we are developing our vehicles’ efficiency while adding to the Land Rover range and expanding our customer base.

Land Rover is engineering a new Range Rover model that will only emit 100g/km of CO2.

The new Range Rover Sport will be available for test drive new year. It is planned to introduce the car for sale in 2012.

If the CO2 emissions turn out to be only 100g/km, the Range Rover will be moved, for its carbon emissions, in the same emission class as smaller vehicles such as the Citroën C1 and Ford Focus Econetic.

The Range Rover Sport will have the 3.0-litre V6 diesel motor. Its parallel 25kW electric motor will allow it to run as an all-electric vehicle.

The car will operate as a plug-in and surplus electrical energy will be stored in a conventional battery pack.

The capacitors deliver high voltages but low currents. The technology is said to suit the Land Rover especially as the short and sharp energy boost is well suited for off-road driving.

Mitsubishi and Mini are taking part in the scheme of launching electric vehicles in the UK. Electric cars, as alternative to other vehicles, could cut road transport emissions in half.

Mitsubishi launched its electric i-MiEV whereas BMW – electric Mini. Both models were exposed for trial. 40 customers tried out Mini in Oxford for a period of six months.

The aim of the project was to evaluate the psychological, social and technological aspect of living with an electric car. Oxford Brookes University will gather the data and make it public.

The Mini E looks similar to the standard Mini but the back seat is converted to store batteries. Acceleration in the new Mini is similar to the other version as the 35kWh lithium-ion battery powers a 201bhp electric motor.

The overall CO2 emissions from the new vehicle equal 68g/km. It is half CO2 emitted by Ford Fiesta. It is said that the emissions will be even lower in the future as more renewable energy will be used.

Owner of the Mini, BMW, estimates that it will cost £1.50 a night and £4.00 during the day to charge the batteries. Each charge will allow the car to drive 150 miles.

Mitsubishi’s i-MiEVs will be tried out in Coventry and Birmingham as part of the Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators project. As many as 110 cars are going to take part in the project.

According to the scheme, Indian Tata will contribute 25 electric Indicas, Microlab will supply 10 hydrogen fuel cell cars, Land Rover will provide five Range_e plug-in hybrids and LTI – five electric taxis.

Birmingham City Council and Coventry City Council will install electric charging points and allow access to the University of Birmingham’s hydrogen refueling station.

After the new models of Land Rover had been introduced to the market, the company’s sales rose by 23%.

All three new models: the upgraded Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery 4 have been very successful. Sales rose from 35,900 to 44,300 vehicles.

The company is experiencing some stability at the moment “with certain key markets showing signs of recovery”.

Despite the trend for 4×4 vehicles to move more towards city-based and more economical cars, Land Rover have stated that they have no intention of compromising the 4×4 performance of their cars in line with more recent moves for vehicles to become more eco-friendly. Instead, Land Rover is working hard to integrate environmentally-friendly technology with their vehicles, without removing any of the 4×4 performance customers come to expect.

Brand manager Andy Goy comments, “Our customers value authenticity. It’s like a diver’s watch; not many people will dive to a couple of hundred metres under the surface, but they like to know the watch can do it.”

While he recognises that most owner will take one off-roading course and then use their rover for towing trailers and driving around town, he sees the market as based around people that want quality and robust vehicles.

2009 Land Rover models are selling fast, and easiy clearing the decks for the new range of vehicles, Wallis Dumper, Managing Director of Land Rover New Zealand reports:

“Customers who decide in advance what they want can protect themselves from currency fluctuations and get a car exactly to their desired specification ordered from the factory. Whilst other manufacturers strive to clear the decks, the Land Rover customers get to factory order fresh new models.”

The new range has a redesigned interior, updated exterior, and a hold of extras and new technologies that add to the environmentally friendly and usability of the vehicles. Supercharged engines are available for those that want a 5.0 litre Sport, and touch-screen information centres are installed.

With current economic situations, exchange rates and prices fluctuating, it’s not yet cleat how much the vehicles will be sold for. With demand at its current levels however, many dealers are already taking custom pre-bookings and expect them to sell well.

The June Motorexpo will see the UK debut of the new range of Land Rovers, which were launched in New York recently at their International Auto Show. The vehicles feature some advancements over previous incarnations, with a 3.0 litre diesel engine in the 2010 Range Rover Sport and the Discovery 4 delivering over 30mpg. A 5.0 litre supercharged enging is available for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, and all vehicles feature improved economical fuel consumption, CO2 emission reductions, changes to exterior design and redesigned interiors.

The 2010 Range Rovers also have the new 12″ TFT infotainment touch screen system, with display virtual dials and graphical displays.

Visitors to the show will also be able to see the Freelander 2 TD4_e, which the features stop/start technology that we have previously discussed on this blog, and is the most fuel-efficient of the Land Rover vehicles so far. Test drives will be available, both on regular roads and also on the artificial off-road simulator, ‘terrapod’.

Land Rover UK’s managing director John Edwards remarked, “We are extremely pleased to be returning to the London Motorexpo this year. It is well documented that our industry is experiencing extraordinary conditions at present but we must invest in the future and continue to market vehicles that are relevant, practical and above all desirable to our customers. The 2009 London Motorexpo is a unique event which offers us an ideal opportunity for showcasing our new model line-up to the British public for the first time.”

From the Spring, Land Rover will be shipping their manual model vehicles with the eco-friendly stop-start technology that has recently been seen on a host of new car brands. Whereas this technology is ideally suited to inner city driving where frequent stops at traffic lights are encountered, Land Rover’s are found as much in cities as in the cross-country terrain, so such a development is still highly relevant.

The tecnology has been installed with care, to ensure the smooth driving experience is maintained. Changing gears to neutral and removing your foot from the clutch shuts off the engine, doing the opposite starts the engine again, with minimal noise and with optimal speed. Automatic Land Rovers have yet to get the same treatment, due to the gear change currently being used as the catalyst for the stop-start. land Rover has assured customers, however, that stop-start will be available for automatic vehicles some time in the future, they just need some additional development time.

Built-in extras include a dashboard addition with helpful alerts and instructions (which can be turned off if they become irritating) and a safety cutout that means the system won’t cut in if the engine is too cold or there’s limited battery power. The vehicles also continue to handle excellently off-road, with the stop-start technology not interfering in any way with their smooth road handling.

Overall, Land Rover have taken excellent steps in incorporating eco-friendly technology into their vehicles, indicating they will be making the effort to adapt their Land Rovers as best they can to new environmentally friendly goals.

Engineers at JE Engineering have supercharged a Defender to produce 460bhp of power, accommodating a Jaguar V8 engine amongst the tranmission system and new ceramic brakes to ensure the vehicle will actually stop once it’s going. The Head of Communications at JE Engineering, Colin Musgrove, commented:

“The technical ingenuity and craftsmanship of the English Midlands is legendary. For over 30 years JE have flown the flag for that heritage in Coventry, the cradle of the British Motor Industry. The “Zulu” illustrates what we can do to promote British Motor Engineering, even in the face of world recession. Yes, the Supercharged “Zulu” is outrageous! Yes, they are intended primarily as extreme fun vehicles to draw attention to the fact that JE and others like us can and will continue to keep alive the proud traditions of British engineering. However, the “Zulu” is the precursor of diesel and hybrid versions which are intended for fast-response vehicles in extreme terrain. So you see, the “Zulu” has a great deal of method in its madness!”

This article was taken from Truck Trend

Land Rover’s lineup of sporty and luxurious SUVs are getting some slight revisions for 2009, with changes being made to all models. The 2009 Land Rover LR2 will get new wheels, new carpeting for the interior, clear side repeater lenses, and revised instrument panel finishes.

The 2009 Land Rover LR3 will get new wheel designs, with 19-in. wheels now coming as standard. Body-color wheel arches and bumper covers also appear. New finishes to the door and tailgate handles and clear lenses on the side repeater lamps are new to the LR3. The HST package, consisting of a sporty body kit, painted front and rear bumpers, side-sill enhancements, and dual HST exhaust tips, is also new for 2009 and gives the LR3 a more aggressive appearance.

Perhaps most noteworthy of Land Rover’s changes will be to the line of Range Rover models, which includes the addition of a new “Autobiography” package for the Range Rover Sport Supercharged model. This package consists of leather trim for the console side surfaces, door casings, and the entire instrument panel. Wood trim accents are also dispersed throughout the interior. Semi-aniline leather seats provide occupants with luxurious seating, while four-zone automatic climate control and a rear-seat entertainment system keep passengers in good spirits.

Other changes made to the Range Rover line include upgraded leather trim for the steering wheel and instrument panel top surface. New and improved door seals help reduce cabin noise, an improvement for off-road warriors. New paint colors are available, along with new wheel designs. Improvements have been made to the interior craftsmanship, and changes are rounded out by clear lenses for the taillamps and side repeater lamps, a “Noble” finish for metal vent bezels, inside door pulls, and the upper and lower console trim. A body-color lower tailgate also comes standard.