Mansory Range Rover Sport tuning program

The Swiss tuning specialist Mansory has revealed its fresh tuning program for the Range Rover Sport entry-premium crossover SUV.

2012 Range Rover Evoque 5-door compact SUV to be revealed in L.A.

The Indian-owned British brand has decided to present a five-door version of the recently presented Range Rover Evoque compact crossover SUV.

The company will officially pull the wraps off the five-door modification (that was clearly inspired by the 2009 Aston Martin Lagonda concept SUV) in November, 2010 at the upcoming international motor show in Los Angeles.

Details are still scarce (to say the least) as to the vehicle's specifications, but, judging by the official photos of the car, the small crossover will be of about the same length as the original tree-door version, i.e. around 4350 mm, which makes it shorter than the new Hyundai ix35 and Audi Q5 compact SUVs.

The car will presumably have to fight its way to customers' hearts against Porsche's upcoming Cajun / Roxster small SUV, but it is going to be a more than trivial task if Range Rover will stick to the current line-up of fuel saving diesels and small-displacement turbocharged petrol engines.

While the claimed fuel efficiency of 48 mpg looks more than stunning to normal motorists, it is almost nothing for those buying a premium-priced SUV, especially if there will be a similarly sized and adequately powered competitor from the German brand that has a reputation of making the most reliable and driver-oriented sports cars in the world.

See also: 2008 Infiniti EX35: ready to get one?

Permalink: 2012 Range Rover Evoque 5-door compact SUV to be revealed in November, 2011

Range Rover Sport LE to invade the U.S.

Land Rover North America is readying its new über weapon set to conquer the U.S. market. Called Range Rover Sport LE, the new executive-class SUV will be limited to 250 copies only, making it one of the most exclusive SUVs in the world.




The upcoming Range Rover Sport LE will come equipped with flush-fitting front and rear bumpers, an extended rear roof spoiler, body-colored lower side panels, a new rear exhaust treatment, tread strips and 20-inch Stormer wheels (wheels alone will add to the vehicle's cost around $5,000 USD, so you get the idea how expensive the rest of the package is).



Inside the Range Rover Sport LE you will find adaptive cruise control, some luxurious leather upholstery, cold climate option, adaptive front lighting, hand-polished oak wooden trim, center console cooler box and carpet mats.

Rear passengers will also receive an audio visual entertainment system of their own.

All this luxury on wheels will be motivated by a powerful 4.2-liter Supercharged V8 engine mated to a permanent four wheel drive system equipped with Range Rover's Terrain Response system.

Land Rover North America plans to sell the Range Rover Sport Supercharged LE will at a price of $81,450. Ouch!

See also: Range Rover Sport TDV8 tuned by Arden

Technorati tags: Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Land Rover, LE, Stormer, price, SUV

Permalink: Range Rover Sport LE to invade the U.S.

Hamann tunes Range Rover Sport Conqueror, offers wide body aero-kit

German tuning specialist Hamann continues its exploits in the highly respectable field of making Range Rover SUVs' owners a little bit happier with their luxurious iron horses. This time Hamann has presented a comprehensive tuning program for the expensive Range Rover Sport Conqueror, a decent rival to the large and famous Cadillac Escalade SUV.

After receiving Hamann's treatment, the Range Rover Sport Conqueror now sports a muscular wide body aerodynamic kit with as well as an ECU engine upgrade kit and a sports braking system consisting of two slotted and inside-vented brake discs in the dimension 380x34mm, two Hamann eight-piston fixed caliper brakes in red plus special brake pads and steel flex brake pipes.

After remapping, both 2.7-liter V6 oil-burner and the 4.4-liter V8 gasoline engines show significantly increased power output. The diesel engine, for example, now produces 225bhp @ 4,000 rpm of power and impressive 510 Nm @ 1,900 rpm of torque. The naturally-aspirated V8 is able to deliver up to 323bhp @ 5,500 rpm and 450 Nm of torque available at 3,500 rpm. Customers living outside the EU may also order a supercharged version of the engine with a sports high-performance header, sports metal catalytic converters and a sports rear muffler installed and capable of delivering up to 475bhp at 5,740 rpm and the maximum torque of 610 Nm at 3,500 rpm.

Of course, the program also includes a set of 315/25R23 wheels fitted to 23-inch multi-pieced Edition Race rims, a 4-pipe sports rear muffler and 90mm stainless steel tailpipes.













See also: Hyundai Veracruz crossover will start at $26,350

Technorati tags: Hamann, Range Rover Sport, Conqueror, diesel, tuning, ECU, cars, SUV

Permalink: Hamann tunes Range Rover Sport Conqueror, offers wide body aero-kit

Range Rover Sport TDV8 tuned by Arden

Arden has again done its best in refining the top of the range (no pun intended) Range Rover Sport TDV8 SUV. Although the body kit offered with the tuning program looks as lousy as usual (I mean, converting an SUV into a race car looks more like a kind of perversion, not personalization), the engine tuning makes quite a solid impression.



After all the modifications, the TDV8's turbodiesel engine produces 315 hp (the original model squeezes out no more than 275 hp if the weather is good) and its peak torque has also been increased to monstrous 700 Nm (516 lb-ft).



The vehicle comes equipped with a custom stainless steel exhaust system, 22-inch monoblock 'Dakar' rims, V_max deactivation unit and new electronic air suspension system



See also: Range Rover SportAR6 Stronger by Arden

Technorati tags: Arden, Range Rover, TDV8, tuning, cars, SUV

Permalink: Range Rover Sport TDV8 tuned by Arden

Range Rover SportAR6 Stronger by Arden

German über-tuner Arden has presented its take on the latest Range Rover Sport SUV. Giving the Range Rover Sport some additional power, Arden tried to make it an adequate competitor to the well-known Porsche Cayenne Turbo S vehicle.

Unfortunately, it seems that the attempt either failed completely or falled a little short of reaching the target.

The first of all, we are talking about SUVs, aren't we? Not trucks, not buses, not even bikes -- SUVs, that's what we are talking about. And SUVs, however fast and controllable they be on the track or on the highway, must at all costs retain their off-road capabilites.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo S has the capability, all right. The Porsche won't get you out of Amazonian dirt, but at the very least you won't be scared to cross the white line on the street. And the Range Rover SportAR6 Stronger just can get off the road because it simply lacks the ground clearance. In fact, I higlhy doubt if one can park on the street without the risk of getting its bumpers broken.

The second, it's just not fast enough. The top speed of 168 mph is equal for both the Arden Range Rover SportAR6 Stronger and the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S but it takes the Porsche only 4.7 seconds to reach 62 mph while the SportAR6 Stronger crawls to the limit for about 6.1 seconds, which is forever.

So, who needs this Arden? Not me.




Permalink: Range Rover SportAR6 Stronger by Arden