Auto Mobile U Spy: Land Rover Prototypes Snapped Running Around Death Valley

While travelling through Death Valley in Eastern California, Carscoop reader Perry D. stumbled upon a convoy of Land Rover prototypes including the compact five-door Range Rover Evoque and the full-size 2013 Range Rover luxury SUV.

We're not sure what the camo'ed up Evoque test cars with the swirly-whirly disguise were doing in Death Valley as the five-door model was unwrapped at last year's Los Angeles Auto Show and is bound to go on sale in the States in October.

However, unless they had a supporting role, one possible explanation is that Land Rover's engineers were testing the baby Range Rover with a different powertrain setup.

Things are clearer when it comes to the 2013 Range Rover, which we've spied in several occasions with the same exact camouflage while testing in Europe.

The British firm's flagship model is expected to land towards the end of 2012 or early 2013 and will be significantly lighter than the current model thanks to the aluminium chassis and an alloy body shell.

The new Range Rover will be offered with a revised engine lineup of V6 and V8 diesels, and V8 petrol units, the latter in both naturally aspirated and supercharged formats, matched to Land Rover’s 8-speed automatic transmission.

More importantly, Land Rover is said to be developing plug-in hybrid variants paired up with diesel and gasoline engines, as previewed by the Range_e concept shown earlier this year.

Along with the Land Rover models, Perry also spotted a couple of Chevrolet Volts (one of which had a "press" sticker) that don't look any different than the ones that are for sale.

Thanks go to Perry D. for the scoop!

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4X4 Topper : Land Rover Scores 54% of the Vote in MSN Cars’ Poll of Best 4x4 Brands

In a recent online poll, MSN Cars asked its readers a simple question: “Which firm makes the best '4x4' type cars?” The winner, with an astonishing 54% of the 39,663 votes is Indian British automaker Land Rover.

The brand’s winning combination of aggressive yet attractive styling, “go anywhere” off-road ability, ruggedness and comfort have made Land Rover the powerhouse brand it is today – and a deserved winner. Land Rover UK managing director Colin Green is understandably over the moon:

“We are thrilled that MSN users have voted Land Rover their favourite 4x4 brand. We know that Land Rover has some of the best brand loyalty figures in the industry and this poll is testament to that. Taking over half the votes is a great achievement and goes to prove that Land Rover really does make the world's most authentic 4x4s. Thank you to everyone who voted for us!”

Second place was snatched by Toyota (9%) and Audi took a surprising third (8%). Jeep claimed an equally surprising sixth (3%), bested by the likes of BMW (6%), Mitsubishi (5%) and Subaru (4%). Mercedes-Benz shared 7th place with Jeep while Lexus, Volkswagen and Volvo scored 2% a piece.

With a history stretching back 63 years, there have been many noteworthy Land Rovers. It seems every model the company has released – from the Range Rover of the 1970s to the Discovery and Freelander models of the ‘90s – has ignited the public’s imagination and fuelled much debate.

So tell us, readers: what is your favourite Land Rover? Do you go with the traditionalist Series I of the ‘40s, the radical Evoque or the flawed yet brilliant Range Rover? You tell us.

By Tristan Hankins

Story source: MSN Cars

Range Rover VS BMW British Team to Race Range Rover Evoque with BMW Straight-Six at the 2012 Dakar Rally

More than 9,000 km in 14 days in extremely demanding conditions: this is the world-renowned Dakar Rally in which every year hundreds of competitors strive not just for the win, but for a chance to cross the finish line having lived an outstanding experience in the most prestigious off-road race on earth.

The British Excite Rally Raid Team will race three cars commissioned by RaBe Race Cars and driven by an all-British line-up consisting of Martin Rowe, Andrew Coley and John Hardy. And if the photo reminds you of something, you are right: the T3 race car’s body shell is that of the brand-new Range Rover Evoque.

However, power will come from a BMW 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six diesel pumping out 275HP and 650Nm (479.4 lb-ft) of peak torque. A ZF 6-speed transmission will transfer power to the wheel that are dressed in BF Goodrich desert tires.

“We’ve been working on this project for a long time”, said the team’s business manager David Jones. “We were approached by a manufacturer, RaBe Race Cars, whose staff has been around the sport for a long time. Seeing our professional approach, they asked if we could work together. We have goals we can assist each other with, so we have now set our sights a bit higher.”

Mike Jones of RaBe Race Cars commented: “We have years of off-road motorsport experience at every level, from club to international works teams. The last 15 years have been devoted to Desert raging and achieving top honors at Dakar. It is little known, but we have built cars for many other teams who race under their own colors and logos.”

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Flying False News: Would Jaguar-Land Rover to open new Engine Plant in UK ?

Jaguar

When Tata Motors acquired Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford in 2008, it had to buy powertrains for the models that were already in production by the British group's former owner.

Now, as part for their expansion plan, Tata Motors is considering the opening of a new engine plant, according to British newspaper Sunday Telegraph. If the report is indeed accurate (the company wasn’t available for comment) it will be built in Wholverhampton in central England and employ around 2,000 workers.

The cost of the plant, which will be the Jaguar-Land Rover group's fourth factory in England, is estimated to be around 400 million (US$632 million), with the newspaper reporting that the British government will contribute £10 million (US$15.7 million) to the project.

Story source: Reuters

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Land Rover Presents Two Defender Concepts in Frankfurt, the DC100 and the DC100 Sport

LR DC 100
Six decades is a very long time - and an eternity if we are talking about cars. Yet that’s the lifespan of the Defender, which was first launched way back in 1949. Over the years, it has been updated numerous times but even so, all versions were built on just two core platforms. Now even Land Rover admits that the time has come for the current Defender to make way for a brand-new model. The first step is the presentation of not one, but two concepts, the DC100 and DC100 Sport at the Frankfurt Motor Show, both of which preview the production version set to launch in 2015.

The purists adored the original model for its ruggedness and simplicity and over the years bought nearly 2 million units, an estimated three-quarters of which are still in service. Land Rover Director, John Edwards, reassured them during the presentation of the concepts that its character will remain unchanged.

“The Defender was lover the world over for its simple, honest and distinctive design," says Edwards. "We are determined that the new Defender will be true to its heritage while meeting the requirements of a changing global market.”

The two concepts are essentially the fixed-roof (DC100) and open-top version (DC100 Sport) of the same car, sharing the platform, the three-abreast classic Defender seating arrangement and tech bits. The latter includes items like the Terrain-I scanning device that warns drivers of obstacles when off-roading, a Wade Aid sonar to asses water depth and advise the driver of the right speed, and a spike tire system that the driver can activate by touching a button.

While all of the above sound very futuristic for the production version, we find many other features that will make it on the roadgoing model such as the new generation Terrain Response system that changes the car’s drivetrain and suspension settings to optimize its performance on any environment.

A 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine motivates the DC100, while the more performance-orientated DC100 Sport gets a petrol unit with the same displacement for a sportier drive. Land Rover said that both engines are capable of being configured as parallel or plug-in hybrids.

An eight-speed automatic transmission and a permanent four-wheel drive system with a Driveline Disconnect feature that decouples the rear axle when AWD isn’t needed in order to improve fuel consumption, can be found on both the DC100 and the open-top DC100 Sport.

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