Introducing The New Range Rover
(Wednesday 15 August 2012)
The latest Range Rover - only the fourth full-sized model since the brand was created in 1970 - will become available to order next month, with UK deliveries scheduled to start early next year.
There has been no radical change in the styling, but this model is nevertheless radically different to anything that has gone before. The fundamental change this time round is that the bodyshell is made of aluminium rather than steel, which the manufacturer claims has allowed it to achieve a startling weight reduction of 420kg.
This, rather remarkably, would bring it under the weight of the smaller Range Rover Sport and Land Discovery, and to within 150kg of the Audi Q7 SUV which is more than half a tonne lighter than the current model.
Nothing improves a car in quite so many areas as taking weight off it. The new Range Rover will certainly be quicker than the current one, and the company claims that the improvements in fuel economy and CO2 emissions amount to a "transformation" (though it hasn't yet provided specific figures).
Ride and handling, both on- and off-road, are also said to be better. That remains to be seen, but the loss of 420kg is bound to help. Just to be sure, the air suspension system has been "completely re-engineered".
The engine line-up will include V6 and V8 diesel engines along with a supercharged petrol V8, and the long-established multi-mode Terrain Response system is being carried over, though in revised form. Various technological upgrades are promised, and rear legroom is said to have been increased by over four inches.
Further details will be announced nearer the time of the car's world debut at the Paris Show in September.
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