Land Rover's new sub-Freelander entry, based on the LRX concept, will be offering buyers the option of either 2- or 4-wheel drive. If the former is preferred, Land Rover assures people it will be the cleanest vehicle ever offered by the manufacturer, emitting "less than" 130 g/km of CO2.
The British firm's managing director Phil Popham says, "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."
"We will continue to make the 'world's finest all-terrain vehicles' for those customers who require 4WD but will also now offer an alternative to those that don't," Popham added.
Points of interest when developing this new, efficient Rover, were primarily reducing weight and cutting parasitic drive train losses.
The diesel-electric "range_e" power train that we recently showed you will begin development this year and be available in the 2012-2013 time frame.
Range_e will utilize Rover's 3.0 liter turbo-diesel TDV6 with electric assistance and an 8-Speed ZF transmission. The goals are less than 100g/km of CO2, a top speed of 120 mph (193 km.h), and an electric range of 20 miles or 32 kilometers.
By Phil Alex
