Rumors: Range Rover Mulling “Grand” Evoque

The Range Rover Evoque hasn’t even hit the market yet, according to a report from UK’s Autocar, Land Rover’s people are debating whether or not to add a bigger version to its line-up, which at the time being, consists of a "coupe-ish" 3-door model and a more practical 5-door variant.

If the British company goes ahead with this plan, it would allow them to bridge the gap that exists in the marque’s (Range Rover, not Land Rover) range between the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport.

This “Grand” Evoque would bebased on the LR-MS platform that underpins the other two versions, stretched by around 300 mm to provide more ample space for passengers as well as a larger boot and may also spawn a (long-rumored) Jaguar SUV.

The design is expected to retain most of the Evoque’s rather striking characteristics, since Land Rover’s designers believe that there is a market for sporty and distinctive, yet not overtly aggressive (such as BMW’s X6) large SUVs.

As for the drivetrains, the logical choice would be to keep the Evoque’s 2.0-litre petrol and 2.2-litre diesel engines, in front and four-wheel drive configurations.

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Project Kahn-Tuned Range Rover Sport 3.0TD V6 Davis Mark II Limited Edition

The Davis Mark II limited edition tribute is the latest addition to Project Kahn’s long line of tuned Range Rovers. We are not sure who the vehicle is named after, but for educational purposes [sic…] we found several people with the name Mark Davis on Wikipedia ranging from a British adult film actor to a cricketer, so feel free to take your pick. Back to the tune, Project Kahn’s newest creation is based on the 2011 Range Rover Sport powered by a 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel and comes with both styling and performance modifications.

On the outside, the luxury SUV is painted in a white color and features a new aero package, the lower parts of which are finished in grey. The side step and air vent trims along with the brake callipers are painted in red or blue. The matte grey door handles and matching color 22-inch-alloy wheels round off the exterior upgrades.

Inside, Project Kahn offers customers numerous options such as a bespoke interior with quilted RS Cosworth leather trim in black with a red or blue stripe, and an infotainment system.

Under the hood, an available £3,995 plus VAT Cosworth upgrade gives the 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel a 55HP boost lifting output to 300-horses.

According to Project Kahn, the conversion is priced at approximately £25,000 (~US$40,800) and the base vehicle lists at around £50,000 (~US$81,600).

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Jaguar-Land Rover Opens Assembly Plant in India, Rolls Out its First Model [with Video]

Gone are the times when you knew where cars were made just by looking at the brand, and when luxury carmakers made the manufacturing of their vehicles in their home country one of their top selling points. Nowadays, you have BMWs built in China, India, South Africa and the USA, Mercedes-Benz cars made in Russia, Thailand and Egypt and so on. The latest premium automaker to go global is the Jaguar-Land Rover group, which inaugurated its first Indian factory on Friday. A Land Rover Freelander 2 SUV was the first vehicle to roll out of the assembly plant, which is located just outside Pune in the Maharashtra region of India. We’ll remind you that Ford Motor Co. sold Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata Motors in 2008 after losing some US$15 billion in two years.
Tata Motors believes that the assembly of Land Rover models in India will help the company better compete against rivals such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, all of which already build vehicles in the booming South Asian country.
“We are excited about the prospect of assembling cars in Pune for the Indian market where we have achieved significant growth since we opened our first showroom in 2009,” said Dr Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover. “It is a great time to be expanding our operation in India due to the increasing demand for luxury products and the strength of the Indian economy."
The Pune facility will assemble Land Rover Freelander 2 vehicles supplied in Complete Knock Down (CKD) form sourced from the British firm’s Halewood manufacturing plant in Liverpool, UK. The SUV will be available in India in two variants, the TD4 SE Automatic and the SD4 HSE Automatic, with local prices starting from INR 3.39 million, or around 15 percent lower than the current imported models.
Recent media reports have suggested that Jaguar Land Rover is also looking into building a new engine plant in India, but the company has not yet confirmed the news.

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