Jeremy Bass•22 Aug 2013
NEWS
FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Hybrid Range Rover unveiled
Aussie debut Q2 next year for diesel/electric Rovers boasting V8 performance and 6.4L/100km economyLand Rover has announced it will be pulling the wraps off three new hybrid Range Rover models at the upcoming Frankfurt motor show. The single flagship Range Rover and two Range Rover Sport variants will all use the company's new diesel-electric powertrain marrying a 3.0-litre SDV6 oiler with a 35kW/170Nm electric motor.
Together, they will produce a total 251kW and a hefty 700Nm, the latter from 1500 to 3000rpm, to all four wheels via the eight-speed ZF automatic the company is already using. The upshot is a set of performance numbers to rival the current 4.4-litre SDV8 diesel. Land Rover claims 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds for the Sport models, 6.9 for the bigger Range Rover, with top speeds of 225 and 218km/h respectively. All come with a 26 per cent cut in CO2 emissions to 169g/km, for both models, equivalent to 6.4L/100km on the combined driving cycle.
The electric motor functions as a torque booster for the diesel, but it's also capable of pushing the vehicle along for short runs on its own. In its switchable EV mode, it's good for up to 1.6km at speeds of up to 48km/h. When the battery reaches a depletion threshold, the ECU activates the diesel.
During deceleration and braking, the electric motor switches to generator mode, providing the battery with regular top ups.
The recently announced Range Rover Sport has moved away from sharing the Land Rover Discovery platform, instead inheriting its architecture from its larger, more luxurious RR sibling. Land Rover conceived the platform from the clean sheet stage to accommodate a hybrid drivetrain. It therefore houses the additional components with no compromises in seating or cargo capacity for either the five-seat Range Rover or the seven-seat Sport variants, as we reported in May.
The hybrid system, including lithium-ion battery pack, inverter and electric motor add less than 120kg to the weight of the drivetrain.
Land Rover Australia spokesman James Scrimshaw says the Range Rover hybrids will arrive Down Under in Q2 2014. The company is not yet talking about pricing or positioning in each line-up, but will follow the UK company's home pricing announcement at Frankfurt almost immediately, he told motoring.com.au.
"We are getting all three variants, but we're still finalising the spec details; for example: whether the Range Rover will get the hybrid package in HSE or Autobiography variants."
To prove the drivetrain's worthiness of the venerated off-road badge and allay anxiety about the reliability of the hybrid package, the company is running a fleet of the new vehicles on its "Silk Trail 2013" expedition from the its British home town of Solihull to India, setting off this week.
Under the stewardship of Land Rover engineers, the 16,000km, ten-leg journey will take in France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China before arriving in Mumbai on October 15.
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Frankfurt Motor Show
Written byJeremy Bass
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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