Land Rover is all set to launch the company’s first ever Hybrid car with the Range Rover Hybrid and Range Rover Sport Hybrid. Both the cars will make their first public appearances at the upcoming event of the Frankfurt Motor Show starting on the 10th of September 2013. These cars will be on sale overseas in the early 2014. Both the hybrids exhibit hi tech diesel electric hybrid engine and still have not confirmed their entry into the American auto market. The company may launch the product locally though.
Both the models will be housing the same powertrain. The cars will be powered by a V6 turbo diesel engine of 3 liter capacity. This is placed in parallel with the electric motor. This engine has been mated to the 8 speed auto gearbox supplied by ZF. The engine will show a maximum power output of 335 bhp and a maximum torque of 516 pound- feet attained at speed of just 1500 rpm. The electric motor is capable of generating a power of 35 kW which is equivalent to 47 bhp and produces a torque of 125 pound- feet.
This combined power has given the car an ability to attain a speed of 30 mph in its only electric mode. But this speed can be sustained for about just a mile. This electric mode can be chosen by the driver manually and is solely for stop and start driving in the town. The electric motor also becomes the generator during braking.
The total weight of the hybrid engine is only 265 pounds. This weight takes into account the floor as well as the Li ion battery along with the inverter. This has given the car good off road capabilities. Talking about the entire vehicle, the Range Rover Sport hybrid has a total dry weight of 5,229 pounds while the Range Rover hybrid has a weight of 5,278 pounds.
These cannot be called light weight vehicles but the new hybrid engine offers an impressive performance. Land Rover is claiming that Range Rover can reach a speed of 62 mph from stand still in just 6.9 seconds while the Range Rover Sport Hybrid can do this is just 6.7 seconds. The top speed for the Range Rover hybrid will be 135 mph while for the Range Rover Sport Hybrid it will be 140 mph.
The fuel economy of both the models is 36.75 mpg as per the Euro combined cycle. Both the cars will be utilizing Land Rover’s 4 wheel drive system and will work on the computer controlled Terrain response 2 off road system. In spite of the floor mounted batteries the cars still have excellent wading and ground clearance.
To exhibit their extreme capabilities the cars will leave tomorrow on an epic journey from the Range Rover manufacturing facility in Solihull in UK to the Land Rover’s parent company Tata Motors located in Mumbai in India. This journey has been named as the ‘Silk Trail 2013’. From UK to India, the cars will travel a distance of 10,000 miles and will move through 12 nations. The journey is expected to end on the 15th of October.
