Diesel Hybrid Range Rover US-Bound?

After six months of fretting and saying distasteful things about the decision-making acumen of Rover executives to Rover executives, it seems like American Range Rover fans needn’t have worried. Land Rover was saving something for us. Something even better than the diesel Range Rover. A diesel HYBRID Range Rover!

We’ve been lamenting the lack of diesel Range Rovers here in the US since- well, since we knew they existed, frankly! The high-MPG, high-torque, high-society diesel Rovers are hot-sellers in Europe, and their 37 MPG rating from the EU seemed like it would help Land Rover meet its ever-tightening CAFE requirements here in the US.

The diesel hybrid system in the concept Range Rover shown, above, uses a 3.0-liter V6 diesel backed up by a new ZF eight-speed transmission and an integrated electric motor. The 1.7-kWh battery pack sits below the floorpan, so interior room space isn’t overly compromised. At the time of its release, Range Rover quoted a combined 333 horsepower, a six second run from 0-60 mph, and over 45 MPG (again, per EU figures).

Land Rover is expected to launch US-bound production versions of the diesel-hybrid Range Rover at the Frankfurt Auto Show this September. No pure EVs are expected from Land Rover, as yet.

Source: Green Car Reports.

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Tags: 2014, 2015, concept car, Diesel, diesel hybrids, diesel-hybrid, frankfurt, hybrid, Land Rover, lr, new, news, Range Rover, RR

About the Author

Jo Borrás I've been involved in motorsports and tuning since 1997, and write for a number of blogs in the Important Media network. You can find me on Twitter, Skype (jo.borras) or Google+.

Jason Carpp

I would hope so. Diesel may not be to everyone’s tastes, but so what? Someone wants it, someone needs it. If I was in the market to buy a brand new SUV and it was available with a diesel engine, I’d go for it, no questions asked.
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I’ve been wondering when an automobile manufacturer would make a diesel hybrid.

Diesels get better mileage and are more reliable than gasoline engines. They also have more torque and have much better towing capability.

Add the towing capability, ability to burn bio diesel, and better fuel economy to a hybrid and it is win all the way around.
- Jo Borras
  
  The diesels’ towing ability is not absolute. There is more to it than you seem to imply, but yes: diesel hybrids are way cool. Volvo began making them years ago and VW also offers one, I believe.
- Mark Penrice
  
  Peugeot beat them to the punch and definitely to market, with a far more sensible and practical setup than this, and I’m pretty sure not even they were absolutely the first.
Mark Penrice

1.7kWh? So that’d propel that beast, what… 4, maybe 5 miles at an easy cruise, less at full chat? I wonder exactly what role the battery and motor play in this case, then? Particularly as the engine is the medium-large 3-litre, rather than a more modest 2.0 or 2.5 that would otherwise satisfy all your Rangey needs other than very hard acceleration and climbing the steepest hills with the heaviest loads?

* “Range Rover execs”, btw. “Rover” itself became a wholly separate – and then defunct – company a long, long time ago.