Land Rover announced this week that they'll be unveiling new diesel-electric hybrid versions of its latest Range Rover and Range Rover Sport SUVs at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show.
The new diesel-hybrid SUV models will start appearing in dealerships in Europe by the end of 2013 according to Land Rover engineer Stuart Frith, who spoke with Car Sales recently.
The hybrid model will be joined by the new V-8 diesel Range Rover Sport at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
"The significant weight reduction (of) 420kg has allowed us to put an I4 (inline four-cylinder) engine in the car, which will come later in the life cycle of the product," said Frith according to Car Sales. "Prototypes that we've made, with the I4 in, the car really still is truly a Range Rover; it still has the performance and off-road capability, because of that weight saving."
The new hybrids will use a V-6 diesel engine, and send their power through the same 8-speed ZF automatic transmission as other Range Rover models.
Frith said it was "safe to assume" that the vehicle's hybrid system will feature a motor/generator between engine and transmission. This means the new model will be a mild hybrid, instead of a full hybrid, using its electric motor for help and battery recouperation
The Ranger Rover Sport Hybrid will most likely adopt an evolution of the technology seen in the 2011 Range_e plug-in hybrid. That model had a 3.0-liter diesel with 242 bhp (180 kW) working together with a 93 bhp (69 kW) electric motor generating a combined output of 334 bhp (249 kW). It also had a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and a 14.2 kWh lithium-ion battery according to Car Sales.
Land Rover is targeting European CO2 emissions of 169 g/km-equivalent to 36 mpg according to Car Sales.
The Hybrid's hardware will be positioned under the floor of the Range Rover Sport, which means the vehicle's seven-seat capacity and luggage space will be "unimpaired" according to Frith.
Land Rover is also working on another high-performance Range Rover Sport model as well.
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