The
Land Rover LRX is the marque’s third
concept carA concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car prototype made to showcase a concept, new styling, technology and more. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced.General Motors designer Harley Earl is...
, and Land Rover’s first serious attempt at offering a vehicle designed to address the issue of
climate changeGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...
through the reduction of
greenhouse gasGreenhouse gases are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The main greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions. The cross-coupe was unveiled at the
North American International Auto ShowThe North American International Auto Show , is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...
in January 2008 and is scheduled for production in 2011 where it will wear the
Range RoverThe Range Rover is a four-wheel drive luxury sport utility vehicle produced by Land Rover in the United Kingdom, owned by the India-based Tata Motors. It was first introduced in 1970 and is still in production today. There have so far been three major generations...
badge and sit below the
Range Rover SportThe Range Rover Sport is a luxury sport utility vehicle produced by Land Rover since 2005. The fifth model in the Land Rover lineup and the first completely new model since the inception of the Freelander in 1996, the Range Rover Sport represents a new design direction for the marque as...
.
The LRX is the most compact Land Rover to date.
The
Land Rover LRX is the marque’s third
concept carA concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car prototype made to showcase a concept, new styling, technology and more. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced.General Motors designer Harley Earl is...
, and Land Rover’s first serious attempt at offering a vehicle designed to address the issue of
climate changeGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...
through the reduction of
greenhouse gasGreenhouse gases are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The main greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions. The cross-coupe was unveiled at the
North American International Auto ShowThe North American International Auto Show , is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...
in January 2008 and is scheduled for production in 2011 where it will wear the
Range RoverThe Range Rover is a four-wheel drive luxury sport utility vehicle produced by Land Rover in the United Kingdom, owned by the India-based Tata Motors. It was first introduced in 1970 and is still in production today. There have so far been three major generations...
badge and sit below the
Range Rover SportThe Range Rover Sport is a luxury sport utility vehicle produced by Land Rover since 2005. The fifth model in the Land Rover lineup and the first completely new model since the inception of the Freelander in 1996, the Range Rover Sport represents a new design direction for the marque as...
.
Overview
The LRX is the most compact Land Rover to date. Its size complements a wide array of efficiency improving technologies in the form of Land Rover’s e_Terrain technologies. These include biofuel compatibility, lightweight construction materials and technologies such as the removable carbon composite roof panels,
regenerative brakeA regenerative brake is a mechanism that reduces vehicle speed by converting some of its kinetic energy into a storeable form of energy instead of dissipating it as heat as with a conventional brake...
s, a stop-start system, and the ERAD (electric rear axle drive)
parallel hybrid powertrainHybrid vehicles are vehicles with two or more power sources in the drivetrain. There are many different types of hybrid vehicles, although only the gasoline-electric hybrid is currently commercially available.-Parallel hybrid:...
system. ERAD encompasses the incorporation of an
electric motorAn electric motor uses electrical energy to produce mechanical energy, usually through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors. The reverse process, producing electrical energy from mechanical energy, is accomplished by a generator or dynamo. Traction motors used on...
into the rear axle of the vehicle. It will propel the LRX to speeds of up to 20mph (32 km/h) before the engine is ignited by and integrated starter generator as part of the stop-start system. ERAD is designed to reduce CO2 emissions by an average of 20 percent under the
NEDCThe New European Driving Cycle is a driving cycle consisting of four repeated ECE-15 driving cycles and an Extra-Urban driving cycle, or EUDC. The NEDC is supposed to represent the typical usage of a car in Europe, and is used, among other things, to assess the emission levels of car engines.- Plot...
test cycle but is expected to offer another 10 percent reduction in extra-urban driving situations. The system has been designed to also optimise the off-road ability of the vehicle Land Rover aims to achieve 120 g/km CO2 emissions and fuel economy of 60 mpg (4.7 l/100 km) on the European combined cycle. Achieving this is an efficient 2.0 litre
turbodieselTurbodiesel refers to any diesel engine with a turbocharger. Turbocharging is the norm rather than the exception in modern car and truck diesel engines...
engine.
The LRX also boasts the latest incarnation of Land Rover’s acclaimed Terrain Response system offering a range of new and existing modes. These include general driving; grass/gravel/snow; sand; and new to the LRX are sports and eco modes.
Typical Land Rover design traits designed to improve off-road performance and practicality include the command driving position,
hill descent controlFour-wheel-drive and All Wheel Drive vehicles such as the Australian made Ford Territory may have a Hill Descent Control system installed, using the ABS braking to control the car's motion downhill, initially developed by Robert_Bosch_GmbH for Land Rover...
and good approach and departure angles. A Land Rover first is the air intake being integrated into the roof to offer exceptional wading capabilities.
The Range Rover DNA is visually apparent in the form of the clamshell bonnet, the ‘floating’ roof, the dual-pocket headlamps, and, borrowed from the Range Rover Sport, the raked roofline.
Interior
Another main focus for Land Rover in terms of future design direction is the interior. Ambient interior lighting changes with the Terrain Response settings and vehicle data is presented by a ‘floating’ three-dimensional
LCDA liquid crystal display is a thin, flat panel used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures...
display. An aluminium centre console with an
iphoneThe iPhone is an Internet and multimedia enabled smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Because its minimal hardware interface lacks a physical keyboard, the multi-touch screen renders a virtual keyboard when necessary...
docking station stretches the length of the cabin, separating the four seats and the tailgate features two padded seating areas and integrated cupholders. The seats have open frameworks to give the impression of a light, airy interior while also creating useful under-seat and under-floor stowage areas. The articulated mechanism of the powered rear seats maximises interior flexibility and produces a large, flat storage area when needed. With the rear seats folded forward, two mountain bikes can be fitted upright behind them, with front wheels removed and stored in dedicated slots in the floor. Large luggage items such as skis and surfboards can also be easily accommodated in the generous load space.
Production Version
On 11 March 2009, the UK Government announced a 27 million grant to be made available to Land Rover for the production of an all-new model. This grant is subject to the conditions that the LRX is manufactured at its Halewood, Liverpool facility. It was confirmed by Land Rover that the new vehicle will be an addition to the Range Rover line-up. Phil Popham, Managing Director of Land Rover said “Our engineering feasibility study has shown that we can very successfully deliver Range Rover levels of quality, drivability and breadth of performance in a more compact, more sustainable, package. Feedback from the most extensive customer research we have ever undertaken also fully supports our belief that a production version of the LRX Concept would further raise the desirability of our brand and absolutely meet all those expectations.”
Earlier in the year it was confirmed by Haldex Traction AB that they will be supplying an all-new four-wheel-drive system to Land Rover for production in 2011. Haldex also produces the centre coupling for the Freelander 2.
Evidence of four-door models has also arisen on the internet with images to support it.