The Range Rover that Britain’s Prince Charles used to take Princess Diana on their first date has appeared for sale on an online auction site.

The sellers claims to have bought the vehicle for $5,200 at an auction last year, not realising it was that particular Range Rover. He knew it was from Buckingham Palace, but no further details.
British Officials have apparantly confirmed the ownership of the vehicle, so it appears to be legit.

The new pope’s old Volkswagen Golf sold for $223,000 so it’s anyone’s guess how high the bidding will go for this Range Rover with a past.

Councillors put their full support behind Land Rover workers in Solihull at a Full Council meeting on Tuesday night.

Members unanimously supported Councillor Ken Hawkins’ (Con, Elmdon) motion to support Solihull’s largest employer.

The motion stated that “The Council confirms its support for Land Rover and for the manufacture of Land Rover vehicles in the borough.”

Members of all parties spoke on their support for the Lode Lane-based plant and was recently victim to a demonstration from Greenpeace.

Coun Hawkins, said: “Land Rover are a vital part of our local economy and we are rightly proud to have them in the borough.

“They are highly valued, and take great steps to work with us and local people on issues concerning the environ-ment.”

He added: “They make a great contribution to our borough and we want to send them a message that the council is behind them.” Activists brought production of the Range Rover to a standstill on May 13, after walking past security and chaining themselves to robots and unfinished vehicles after disguising themselves as workers.

Coun Mick Corser, (Lab, Chelmsley Wood), said: “These protesters never thought about the workers. It’s about their total disregard for people’s jobs. More than anything this borough relies on Land Rover.

“We all know that Land Rover more than anybody are progressive in terms of environmentally safe vehicles and we know what they have done for the environment around Solihull.”

(this article was taken from icsolihull.co.uk)

Sales of the latest addition to Land Rover’s luxury 4×4 line up are booming, a leading motor dealer has said. The car, which is aimed at getting Land Rover into the sportier segment of the off-road market, went on sale in the last few few weeks at on- the- road prices ranging from ?35,000 to ?59,000.

Land Rover took some 4,000 advance orders for the Sport and the UK dealer allocation has been taken up until the end of the year. “It is the top specification model that people are buying.” Land Rover is currently bucking the downward trend in car sales so far this year, particularly in the tough American market, thanks to the success of the third generation Discovery launched late last year.

British companies should do even better when registrations of the Sport start trickling through into the official industry sales figures. This should be good news for Land Rover, which is under pressure from parent group Ford to improve the build quality of its cars and the efficiency of the Lode Lane factory. A major dealer said trading had been in line with expectations so far this year. The company, which reports its interim results on 1 August, said it had paid out ?31 million of its planned ?65 million share buyback programme.

(content for this article was taken from icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk)

Land Rover?s first-ever concept vehicle makes its debut at the Detroit Show, and the company says that the Range Stormer “sports tourer SUV” is a definite preview of an additional model line.

Standing on a brand-new platform, unique to Land Rover and about to be used in the production version, the show car is powered by a supercharged Jaguar V8. Rather than being just bolted straight in, the torque-optimised engine has been modified to allow for serious off-roading, at the kind of fore-and-aft and side-of-a-hill angles at which all Land Rover products continue to perform.

An electronically controlled ZF six-speed automatic transmission is fitted, and the four-wheel drive, as always, is permanently engaged. The familiar low-range transfer box is also included.
Land Rover design director Geoff Upex says that his team wanted the Range Stormer to look “powerful, muscular and edgy”. The styling certainly offers a modern take on several traditional Range Rover features, and adds a few new ones of its own.

The clamshell bonnet, minimal front overhang, slim pillars and dead-straight waistline are all familiar styling cues, but the Range Stormer also includes details like a glass roof, a power bulge on the bonnet, and massive 22″ Alcoa forged alloy road wheels with custom-made Goodyear tyres.

Special Headlamps Too

Hella bi-xenon headlamps with “crushed ice” lenses swivel with the steering wheel to illuminate the exit from a corner, and side-fitted LEDs provide extra directional lighting.

There?s no indication yet of exactly how many of the items featured in the show car will make the leap to production status, but if even some of them do, it will be well in advance of its rivals.

In this two-door design the side doors are two-piece. The upper part hinges upwards and forwards, while the lower half hinges down to act as a step into the passenger cabin. Also split horizontally, although in more conventional proportions, the tailgate is electrically operated. It?s the same with the floor compartments, which can be lowered to provide additional stowage space.

Inside, the most striking features are the highly stylised seats, two each at front and back. Aluminium-framed, they?re trimmed with dark saddle leather facings, and the same material is used for the centre console and the top of the fascia. The lower part of the fascia, the door trim and the headlining are trimmed in ivory leather, and the floor doesn?t have mats or ordinary carpeting, but a softer-grained leather covering.

Many of the switches, and the instrument faces, are aluminium, and there?s a quirky little fuel gauge. Instead of featuring a needle or a digital display, it uses an actual liquid to show the level of fuel in the tank.

Holding Off On Monocoque

In the familiar 4×4 argument about monocoque versus separate chassis, the Range Stormer designers come down on the side of the latter, but they?re confident that the platform “combines the torsional rigidity and strength of a monocoque with the advantages and versatility of a body-on-frame chassis”.
Versatility is certainly the key word where the suspension design is concerned. It uses height-adjustable air springs, and features the new Terrain Response technology developed by Land Rover?s engineering and design centre at Gaydon.

This allows the driver to select any one of six “terrain settings”. Normal is for ordinary driving. Dynamic is for high speed or winding tarmac roads. When the going gets rough, deep or slippery, that?s the time to choose Sand or Deep Ruts or Rocks or Grass/Gravel/Snow.

Land Rover managing director Matthew Taylor says: “You?ll be seeing an increasing amount of innovative technology in our future vehicles. Terrain Response is technology that makes driving simpler, not more complicated . . . The special Dynamic setting reflects the high-performance on-road bias of the Range Stormer, for example. But in all programmes, the driver always retains overall control.”
Taking advantage of electronic systems supplied by Alps, Terrain Response isn?t just for the show car, but will also appear in future production models, linked with individual technical features like ABS, EBD, Dynamic Stability Control and Hill Descent Control.

(this article was taken from carkeys.co.uk)

The Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire has just taken delivery of an exceptionally rare Land Rover. Shortly after the Series 1 model was introduced in 1948, coachbuilder Tickford was commissioned to design a Station Wagon version based on the same mechanicals. Tickford designed a metal rear body on a wooden frame, and provided seats for seven occupants, among other features.

The Station Wagon was intended to give the Land Rover greater on-road appeal while retaining its off-road capabilities. Unfortunately, the whole idea bombed because the new model cost ?959 compared with ?580 for the basic Series 1. The extra equipment was only partly a factor in this – the main problem was that the Exchequer, which considered the Series 1 exempt from Purchase Tax, did not feel the same way about the Station Wagon.

As a result, just 641 Station Wagons were built between 1949 and 1951, and more than 600 of those were exported. It’s believed that only around 20 survive today.

You can imagine, therefore, how the Heritage Centre must have reacted when JDG 135 was offered for display by its owner, a private collector. This fascinating and unusual machine will be added to Gaydon’s Land Rover collection and can be seen along with the Centre’s other exhibits at the normal opening times of 10am-5pm, every day except December 24-26.

(this article was taken from itv-motoring.com)

Sirius Satellite Radio announced yesterday that Land Rover will be offering Sirius Radio as a factory-installed option in the 2006 models of Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. Additional features will include an installed head unti which displays artist, song title and category when playing. There will also be a touch screen to enhance driver control.

Sirius Radio currently broadcasts throughout the Continental United States, and it in unclear as to whether British models will have an option for Satellite Radio, or indeed if a suitable Satellite Radio broadcaster is available in the UK. Despite the fact that we might not have access to this particular extra in the British Isles, it does however indicate a promising move towards further customising the Range Rover models, moving with technology to keep them the fore-most in their genre.

For those of us in America, Sirius broadcasts more than 120 channels of commercial-free music, talk shows, news, information and sports programming for a monthly subscription of $12.95. Land Rover are offering the installed system for $400 with discounts to the subscriptions paid up for a year or more.

The 4X4OTY award-winning new Discovery bristles with technology, but does it work and how does the all-new Land Rover compare with its rivals? Allan Whiting and the gang from 4X4 Australia magazine were pleasantly surprised.
Occasionally a landmark vehicle comes along and, more often than not, it emerges from the British town of Solihull. Some of us are old enough to remember the impact the first Range Rover made on the Australian 4X4 scene in 1972.

With its all-coil suspension, smooth V8 and full-time 4X4 drivetrain the Rangie took a quantum leap over its leaf-sprung, part-time 4X4 Japanese and North American rivals. But its $7475 retail ask was around twice the going rate of an ordinary 4X4. Since 1972 there have been only a few landmark 4X4 wagons that have introduced new technology and Land Rover has been responsible for most innovations: direct-injection turbo-diesels, variable-height air suspension, electronic traction control and hill descent control are the stand-outs.

The 2002 Range Rover stacked these and other innovations into an independently-suspended body to become undoubtedly the most advanced 4X4 wagon in the world, but at a price upwards of 120 grand. What then, of the brand-new Discovery 3 that puts all these technological advances – and more besides – into a package priced from around $60,000? Little wonder Disco 3 picked up 4X4 Of the Year 2005. But 4X4OTY is not a direct comparison: it’s an award for what is deemed to be the best new release in a calendar year. So, we were keen to find out how the Discovery 3 stacked up against the opposition. We chose a mid-spec Disco 3 SE – turbo-diesel with air suspension – and put it up against its turbo-diesel, auto-transmission competitors: Prado Grande, LandCruiser 100 Series and the price-leading Patrol ST-L. The Disco is powered by a 2.7-litre V6 turbo-intercooled diesel.

Variable geometry turbocharging and common-rail, high-pressure injection combine to give the bent six very respectable figures of 140kW at 4000rpm and 440Nm at 1900rpm – that’s only 11kW less power than the 4.2-litre LandCruiser turbo-diesel and with 10Nm more torque. This engine is matched to a six-speed adaptive-shift, Tiptronic-style automatic box. The standard Discovery SE fare is comprehensive: electronically controlled, independent air suspension; 18-inch alloy wheels; cruise control; xenon headlights; park distance control; seven cloth-covered seats; manual height-adjustable driver’s seat; tilting-telescopic steering column; climate control; single-CD, six-speaker sound system; EBD/ABS brakes; dynamic stability and roll control; traction and hill descent control; on- and off-road programming; electric park brake; and multiple airbags.

Our test vehicle had optional locking rear diff ($1000), cornering headlights ($1000), satnav ($6100), front park distance control ($850), metallic paint ($1500) and a ‘Hi Ice’ Pack with eight speakers, passive sub-woofer, in-dash six-CD stacker and steering wheel audio controls ($3650). Added to the SE base price of $73,650 that list took the total ask to $86,900. We’d let Land Rover keep all options except the diff and the literally brilliant cornering lights, dropping the evaluation SE’s price to $75,650.

ALSO RANS…
The Prado Grande is an obvious competitor at $73,710. Grande features include a four-speed auto box, rear air-suspension with height-adjustment, variable-rate dampers, Driver Assist Technology (DAT) that incorporates traction control, swerve control and hill holding and descent control, EBD/ABS brakes, multiple airbags, eight leather-covered seats, a navigation system, sunroof, climate control with rear outlets, cruise control, power-adjustable front seats, tilt-telescopic steering column, metallic paint and 17-inch aluminium wheels. Next in the numbers game is the LandCruiser 100 Series and the most popular spec level is the GXL.

Our comparison vehicle was a stock GXL turbo-diesel, priced at $74,200. You get little in the way of frills with the GXL: five-speed auto box, manual air-conditioning, seven cloth seats without height or lumbar adjustment, steel 16-inch wheels, a tilt-only steering column, no traction aids other than a limited-slip rear differential (despite a window sticker proclaiming the vehicle is fitted with DAT) and cheap-looking aluminium side-steps. The Nissan competitor for the Discovery 3 is the newly announced ST-L turbo-diesel Patrol.

A more appropriate spec level would be the Ti, but Nissan makes that model only with 4.8-litre petrol power. Our evaluation Patrol was a 3.0-litre auto model that retails for $61,240. The ST-L spec includes seven leather seats, power-adjustable front seats, front and rear manual airconditioning, 17-inch aluminium wheels, a tilt-only steering column, a powerful limited-slip rear diff and part-time 4X4 operation. If we’d opted for the ST-L 4.2 model, we’d have picked up cruise control, but the auto box disappears and the retail jumps to $65,240.

TO THE TEST
We loaded each vehicle with typical bush-touring freight and headed off for three days of widely different driving conditions. For all but one of the test team it was a first encounter with the new Discovery. Over the bitumen and gravel on-road sections of the test the Discovery was by far the best performing, riding and handling vehicle of the quartet. Early Range Rover air-suspensions were somewhat harsh-riding, but that characteristic has been eradicated. The Discovery 3′s air-suspension was sufficiently supple to absorb bumps, but cross-linked air springs kept the big wagon flat through high-speed manoeuvres.

We drove it on bitumen in the Terrain Response System’s ‘general driving’ mode, then switched to ‘grass/gravel/snow’ on dirt roads. The change in engine and transmission response was immediately noticeable, with a ‘softening’ of power delivery and shifting action, to reduce the chance of traction loss. With the ‘grass/gravel/snow’ program working it was difficult to provoke out-of-shape behaviour from the Disco 3. Punting the new Discovery on any formed surface is like driving a luxury sedan, with none of the expected compromises a 4X4 should impose. It also had the easiest cruise control operation. The 100 Series turbo-diesel has been the benchmark for big wagon performance and handling, but the Cruiser has well and truly met its match in the new Discovery.

The British machine easily out handled and outgunned the grunty 100 Series. The Prado also failed to match the Discovery’s bar height, with far less power and torque available, and with its live rear axle unable to match the handling precision of the Land Rover’s independently sprung design. The 2005 Patrol’s 1988 GQ heritage showed positively in flat handling, but with lively suspension action that provided ample evidence of the unsprung axle weight reciprocating beneath. Sadly, the change to 17-inch, lower-profile tyres with less cushioning action than the previous 16-inchers has made the Patrol’s ride-quality worse.

THE ROUGH STUFF
Nissan doesn’t fit cruise control to the 3.0-litre diesel models, which we reckon is silly. All four vehicles ran our off-road course without drama. The Discovery’s Terrain Response System took all the guess-work out of mode selection and the automatically-locking rear diff took much of the grip-assurance work away from the traction control system. The Land Rover climbed steep, loose slopes with some traction-control slip and grip at the front end, but was never fazed. In ‘rock crawl’ and ‘mud and ruts’ positions the Terrain Response System activated a higher ride height, effectively increasing underbody and under-axle clearance. The Prado’s traction control and height-controlled rear axle combined to give it very good rock-climbing ability.

We liked the manual control over the centre diff lock in both high and low ranges that allowed easy manoeuvring in tight situations. The 100 Series made up for its lack of traction aids with excellent rear-suspension travel that kept both rear wheels in contact with the ground almost all the time. The Patrol performed the rock-shelf climbing trick without much wheelspin, thanks to the excellent travel of front and rear live axles and its strong rear LSD. Beam axles may reduce on-road handling and ride quality but they sure work in the rough stuff! Oddly, though, the Patrol’s engine braking was the worst of the four vehicles and needed considerable wheel-braking effort as a supplement. The big Cruiser’s engine braking was the best, so the fact it didn’t have hill descent control wasn’t a problem.

The Discovery and the Prado both had very effective hill descent control and we liked the way the Disco’s could be adjusted for descent speed via the cruise control buttons. In soft sand the LandCruiser 100 Series’ baggy 16-inch tyres gave it superior flotation over the other three vehicles and it could be almost idled around our sand circuit. We expected the 18-inch low profile rubber on the Disco to nobble it on the sand, but the V6s diesel’s free-revving ability in concert with the brilliant six-speed transmission’s shift quality overcame the tyre drag to a large extent. The 2.7-litre V6 felt more like a petrol engine than a diesel, able to rev at will and never ‘bogged down’ by the wrong gear ratio. We’re still not happy about the 18-inch tyre fitment and we’d opt for the ‘S’ model’s 235/70R17 wheel and tyre package. Seventeens that can handle bush work are becoming more readily available in the marketplace. The Patrol auto-3.0-litre combination was much sweeter to drive in sand than the manual we last evaluated.

The box allowed the engine to rev well and sand performance was impressive. However, the low-profile tyre move is a backward step for sand gropers. The Prado was the least comfortable of the quartet in soft sand, lacking directional stability and understeering when asked to corner. We still reckon the Prado works better on the GX model’s 225/70R17 rubber than it does on the GXL and Grande models’ 265/65R17s. There wasn’t a huge fuel-consumption difference across our test foursome, with the LandCruiser 100 Series averaging 13.8L/100km, the Discovery 14.3L/100km, the Patrol 14.7L/100km and the Prado 15.4L/100km.

All four offer considerable fuel cost-savings over equivalent-performance petrol engines. The Prado’s relatively poor economy showing can be put down to the fact it’s powered by an old-generation pre-chamber diesel that also had to work harder than the more modern engines. The Prado is the touring range leader thanks to its 180-litre tank capacity. Next best is the 100 Series, with 141 litres, then the Patrol on 125 litres and a poor last is the Land Rover’s inadequate 82 litres. Another aspect of economy is running expense and here the Discovery has some saving potential, thanks to much longer servicing intervals than the Japanese trio, with their 5000km oil drain requirements. Land Rover allows oil drains out to 15,000km.

REPUTATION PRECEDES…
The only doubt hanging over the new Land Rover Discovery 3 is its heritage of less than consistent build quality and the marque’s historical quirkiness and unreliability. As with all post-Ford-ownership Solihull products (except the incurable Defender) the build quality question seems to have been answered in the affirmative. Our recent test Discoverys have been well built and this evaluation Discovery 3 was faultless on test. If we judge the Land Rover Discovery 3 without prejudice it stands beside the original 1970 Range Rover as a true landmark 4X4. It’s also by far the best vehicle in its class and is today’s best value-for-money large luxury wagon.

(Article by 4X4 Australia’s Allan Whiting)

The Range Rover Sport, an all-new sports tourer SUV from Land Rover, will take pride of place in the British automaker’s range as the best-performing and best-handling vehicle it has ever built.
To be officially launched at the January 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the new 4×4 was designed to take on the performance luxury SUV leaders, such as the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5 4.8is.

As such, the new Range Rover Sport is powered by a modified Jaguar engine – a supercharged V8 powerplant that makes 287kW of power, or 385hp.
“The Range Rover Sport is an additional, fifth nameplate for the Land Rover brand,” said Matthew Taylor, Land Rover’s managing director.

“It takes us into the growing performance SUV market but is different from all rivals. We see it as a less frenetic, more refined alternative to existing performance SUVs.
“It is ideal for fast, comfortable, long-distance driving and practical enough for everyday use. Yet it is also exceptional off-road, offering better all-terrain ability than any competitor. Like all Land Rover products, it offers the broadest range of capability in its class.

“It also perfectly complements the existing Range Rover,” continued Taylor, “the ultimate luxury SUV. Range Rover Sport is more compact and will be priced to fit between Discovery 3 and the Range Rover in the Land Rover product range.”

The spirit of the Range Rover Sport was embodied in the much-admired Range Stormer concept vehicle, first seen at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The top-line Range Rover Sport uses a specially-developed version of Jaguar’s well-known 4.2-litre supercharged V8 engine. Maximum power is 287kW and maximum torque is a hefty 550Nm with an electronically-limited top speed of 225km/h.
Power and torque are delivered to all four wheels through a ZF 6-speed ‘intelligent shift’ automatic gearbox featuring sport programming and Land Rover’s “CommandShift”, which offers manual control of gearchanges. Low range is electronically selectable.

One of the most aerodynamic of all SUVs, the Range Rover Sport combines a smooth shape with a powerful stance, muscular wheel-arches, a raked roof, and tailgate-mounted rear spoiler.
Recognisable Range Rover styling cues include the ‘floating’ roof (created by the black roof pillars) and clamshell bonnet. But in the interests of improved airflow, the bonnet castellations have been smoothed away and the windscreen given a faster angle.

The Range Rover Sport has a five-door body style, with a single-piece rear aluminium tailgate that includes an opening rear glass for easy access. Inside, it is a roomy yet sporty five-seater featuring premium materials, including leather, wood and metallic finishes.

The cockpit is designed around the driver, with a high and sweeping centre console so the driver reaches across to the controls rather than down to them. The seats are sporty and supportive.
“It is the best ?driver’s vehicle? that Land Rover has ever made,” Matthew Taylor said. “There is the traditional Land Rover command driving position, yet the cockpit is more cocooning than the SUV norm.
“We believe the emphasis on the driving experience will make the Range Rover Sport an attractive proposition to those who currently drive luxury executive cars [sedans], as well as the more sporty 4WD’s, thanks to its overall refinement and unmatched breadth of capability.”

Although developed with greater emphasis for on-road performance than any previous Land Rover, the Range Rover Sport is exceptionally competent across all terrains. Its offroad capability is boosted by Land Rover’s highly effective ‘Terrain Response’ system, which is standard on all models.
This intuitive system allows the driver to choose one of five terrain settings via a rotary control on the centre console.

Terrain Response then automatically selects the most appropriate settings for the vehicle’s many advanced electronic controls and traction aids ? including ride height, engine torque response, Hill Descent Control, electronic traction control and transmission settings.

Land Rover’s new and unique Integrated Body-frame structure, first seen on Discovery 3/LR3, has now been tailored for the Range Rover Sport to reinforce the vehicle’s sporting character.
This includes a six-inch or 14cm shorter wheelbase (108inches/275cm) for improved agility. Four-corner air suspension is standard on all models.

The double-wishbone suspension has been designed for sporty ride and handling, especially when cornering, and the speed-proportional variable ratio steering allows low-speed agility, while providing stability during high-speed cruising.
Land Rover’s new Dynamic Response system senses cornering forces and acts to optimise body control and handling performance. The system decouples offroad, to allow greater wheel articulation during tough all-terrain driving.

In keeping with its “driver’s pedigree”, key work on the chassis tuning of Range Rover Sport was completed at the N?ring circuit in Germany, in addition to the usual rigorous on-road and offroad Land Rover development programme. Advanced electronic safety aids include Electronic Traction Control, Emergency Brake Assist and Dynamic Stability Control. On the supercharged version, four-piston Brembo front brakes supply superb braking ability.

In addition to the supercharged engine used in the top-line Range Rover Sport, two further Jaguar-derived engines are available: a normally aspirated 220kW, 4.4-litre petrol engine and the all-new 2.7-litre turbocharged V6 diesel with 440Nm of torque.

All engines have been extensively developed to meet Land Rover specifications, including improved waterproofing for wading, extra dust protection, and the ability to handle the extreme angles demanded in tough off-roading. A 6-speed automatic gearbox, with a sports mode and low range is standard. It automatically and ‘intelligently’ adapts itself to the individual driver’s style, to increase driving pleasure for the enthusiast.

Practical technologies available on the Range Rover Sport include adaptive cruise control (its first Land Rover application), bi-xenon adaptive front lighting, and latest generation satellite navigation, both on- and offroad Audio systems by harman/kardon and a twin-screen DVD rear-seat entertainment system, like the Holden Caprice, with high-resolution screens enclosed in the front seat head rests are also available.

The Range Rover Sport makes its world debut in January 2005 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The vehicle will be available in Australia late in 2005.

(this article was taken from webwombat.com and written by Motoring Channel Staff)