Range Rover will be adding a two-wheel drive model into its lineup when the all-new compact Rangie goes on sale in the UK in 2011.
Announcing the radical driveline option for its upcoming mini Range Rover this week, the company confirmed new facts about a model that promises to allow it to make meaningful statements about carbon footprints and fuel economy.
Land Rover says the new vehicle -- which is understood to stem from the LRX concept car first shown at the Detroit motor show in 2008 - will be its lightest, most fuel-efficient model ever, and will be capable of delivering CO2 efficiencies as low as 130g/km.
Explaining the rationale behind the new model, UK managing director Phil Popham said: "This is good news for the company and for our customers. A 2WD option is just one way in which we are developing our vehicles efficiency whilst adding to the Land Rover range and expanding our customer base."
The existence of a 2WD option in the new vehicle makes it a more comfortable fit with the Range Rover brand rather than the more utilitarian-focussed Land Rover badge.
Within the entire model range, the new Range Rover will fit below the current Land Rover Freelander and, with the 2WD option, will be even more SUV in style. The company will announce its name in July this year.
Australia can expect to see the new compact Range Rover in the last quarter of 2011.
No comments have so far been made about the new vehicle and the hybrid technology it plans to introduce on the turbodiesel Range Rover Sport based "range e". The range e uses the current 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel and is claimed to be capable of travelling 30km or so purely on electric power
The range e begins UK testing this year and is still some way off production. Australia will have to wait until 2013 for the range e hybrid after the local arm sifts through model availability and market suitability.
Watch Carsales TV's video on Land Rover LRX styling here
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