SPY PICS: Land Rover LRX prototype spotted

It may be wearing a Freelander body but this test mule is the forthcoming Range Rover LRX. Usually the domain of sportscars and hot hatches the LRX prototype has been spied under going handling testing at Germany's famed Nurburgring circuit.

That's because although it may look like a high-riding offroader, the LRX will be a sports-themed, premium offering from Range Rover, not Land Rover as originally unveiled in concept form. As we reported recently, Land Rover Managing Director Phil Popham has confirmed the LRX will become a production reality wearing the prestige Range Rover badge.

Also confirmed from our earlier report is the addition of rear doors, a departure from the three-door LRX concept. Although there remains a strong possibility the car will be offered in both three and five-door variants; expect the five-door to appear first.

These spy shots show the LRX has grown in height too. The sleek roofline of the concept has been dropped in favour of a more practical higher roof to improve passenger comfort. But the mule certainly doesn't appear to have added much length, with a very short rear overhang implying the LRX will be a truly compact SUV.

Our spies at Carparazzi tell us that the engine bay is likely to be filled with the choice of a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel or a 3.2-litre inline six-cylinder petrol engine. The LRX concept's hybrid electric-diesel powertrain remains a possibility too as Land Rover looks to reduce fuel consumption and emissions in the face of increasingly strict legislation.

A public debut for the definitive Range Rover LRX is expected next year ahead of sales beginning in 2011.

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