Announcing the First Land Rover Hybrid
Land Rover is entering a new era of electrified driving. However, the legendary British brand isn’t giving up the rugged capability that built its reputation. Instead, Land Rover plans to prove that hybrid technology can handle some of the toughest driving conditions on Earth.
The new Range Rover Hybrid represents a major step forward for the company. Moreover, Land Rover is putting the vehicle through an extreme real-world test before its official arrival.
Range Rover Hybrid Takes on a 9,950-Mile Expedition
Land Rover is sending the Range Rover Hybrid on a grueling 9,950-mile endurance expedition as part of its final engineering sign-off.
The journey begins at Land Rover’s home in Solihull, United Kingdom, on August 22. From there, the Range Rover Hybrid will travel across Europe, Russia and Asia.
Finally, after more than seven weeks on the road, the expedition plans to reach Mumbai, India, on October 15.
However, this is much more than a long-distance road trip. Land Rover wants to push the hybrid powertrain under demanding real-world conditions.
Land Rover Puts Hybrid Technology to the Test
Range Rover built its reputation on luxury, four-wheel-drive capability and serious off-road performance. Therefore, introducing hybrid technology creates a major engineering challenge.
The company cannot simply build an efficient luxury SUV. Instead, the Range Rover Hybrid must still perform like a Range Rover.
Consequently, the expedition will test the vehicle across dramatically different terrain. The route will expose the SUV to highways, rough roads, steep climbs and changing climates. In addition, the long journey will test reliability far beyond a controlled laboratory environment.
Land Rover aims to demonstrate that electrification can work alongside serious off-road capability.
Efficiency Meets Range Rover Performance
Hybrid technology also gives Land Rover an opportunity to reduce fuel consumption and emissions without abandoning the performance customers expect.
Instead of relying entirely on a conventional combustion engine, the Range Rover Hybrid combines traditional power with electric assistance. As a result, the electric motor can support the engine when additional power is needed.
Meanwhile, the hybrid system can improve efficiency during everyday driving.
That combination matters for large luxury SUVs. Traditionally, vehicles in this class require significant amounts of fuel. However, hybrid technology offers manufacturers another way to reduce that consumption while maintaining power, comfort and driving range.
A Different Kind of Hybrid Vehicle
Most early hybrids built their reputation around efficiency. However, Land Rover is approaching electrification from another direction.
The Range Rover Hybrid must deliver efficiency and capability.
That means drivers should still expect the vehicle to tackle difficult terrain. Moreover, Land Rover wants the hybrid system to work without compromising the SUV’s four-wheel-drive character.
The 9,950-mile expedition will help demonstrate that point.
Instead of protecting the new technology during its development, Land Rover is taking it across continents. Therefore, the company is turning the engineering test itself into a demonstration of confidence.
Electrification Reaches the Luxury SUV Market
The Range Rover Hybrid also signals a broader change across the automotive industry.
Hybrid technology is no longer limited to small economy cars. Instead, manufacturers are bringing electrification into luxury vehicles, performance cars and SUVs.
For Land Rover, that transition carries particular importance. Its vehicles must operate in environments where reliability and capability matter enormously.
Therefore, electrification must complement the Range Rover experience rather than replace it.
The first Range Rover Hybrid offers an early look at how Land Rover plans to balance those priorities.
The Road to Mumbai
By the time the Range Rover Hybrid reaches Mumbai, it will have crossed thousands of miles and several dramatically different regions.
More importantly, Land Rover will have collected valuable engineering data along the way.
The expedition will test the hybrid system under sustained driving conditions. Furthermore, engineers can evaluate how the vehicle responds to temperature changes, elevation, road quality and demanding terrain.
Ultimately, Land Rover wants to prove something simple but important: going hybrid doesn’t mean giving up capability.
Instead, the Range Rover Hybrid could show how electrification can strengthen the next generation of luxury SUVs.
For Land Rover, those 9,950 miles represent more than an endurance test. They mark the beginning of a new chapter for one of the world’s best-known four-wheel-drive brands.
Silk Trail start for First Land Rover Hybrid
The Silk Trail is a historical network of interlinking trade routes which connected East, South and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world. Extending 4,000 miles (6,437km), the Silk Trail gets its name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade which was carried out along its length and became a significant factor in the development of the civilisations in Asia & Europe from 206BC until the late 14th Century.
Silk Trail 2013 Expedition Leader, Dougie Dale said: “We are delighted with progress so far, but the European leg is the easy part with good road networks – this has allowed us to use the Hybrid system to great effect predominantly in urban areas. As the expedition heads towards Eastern Europe and beyond over the next week, we expect the terrain to toughen and we will really start to use the Range Rover Hybrid’s uncompromised capability.”
The Silk Trail Expedition
The Silk Trail expedition is divided into 10 stages and is scheduled to visit France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Nepal and India. The Range Rover Hybrids are being driven by teams of Land Rover development engineers and specially invited media from 10 countries in Europe and other nations along the route.
“The 53-day expedition will cross 12 countries and tackle some of the world’s most challenging roads, passes and trails, including part of the ancient, 4,000 mile Silk Road which connected Asia with the Mediterranean. This event is the latest in Land Rover’s proud history of going ‘above and beyond’” said John Edwards, Land Rover Global Brand Director.
Berlin was a stop for the First Land Rover Hybrid
On Monday 26th August the crews and vehicles paused in Berlin, Germany, after completing 833 miles (1,340km) of the route. Over time, Berlin has become a symbolic meeting point between western and eastern Europe, reflecting the Silk Trail’s linking of the western world with the far east in earlier centuries. The 1,094 mile (1,760km) Stage 2 drive to Cracow (Poland) and Odessa (Ukraine) starts Wednesday 28th August.
“A stunning combination of mountain passes, arid desert, high altitude, chaotic city streets, heat, humidity and wilderness will provide the perfect testing ground for our first hybrid. Our engineers are using this adventure as the final development drive before the official sign-off for series production later this year,” added Edwards.
What a Treck
Wildly varying conditions will present the crews and vehicles with tough challenges which Land Rover confidently anticipates the new hybrid’s peerless four-wheel drive and acclaimed Terrain Response® 2 will overcome.
“Land Rover has been exploring the planet since the debut of its first model in 1948. With the new Range Rover Hybrid, the world’s first premium diesel SUV hybrid, combining significantly lower CO2 emissions with uncompromised performance, the Silk Trail 2013 expedition expresses Land Rover’s commitment to its vehicles as well as to the environment,” concluded Edwards.
Editors’ Note
The Range Rover Hybrid and Range Rover Sport Hybrid go on sale across the UK on September 10, with first deliveries in early 2014.
The hybrid powertrain combines Land Rover’s 3-litre SDV6 turbo diesel engine with a 35kW electric motor integrated with the 8-speed ZF automatic transmission. Total output of the powertrain is 340PS and 700Nm torque, resulting in acceleration to 62mph (100km/h) in under seven seconds, a strong mid-range rush and a top speed of 135mph (218km/h). The powertrain achieves a 26 percent reduction in CO2 emissions to 169g/km and records 44.1mpg (combined cycle).
Source: Land Rover
DNA – Digital News Agency, Whitley, 29 August 2013
