May

Land Rover Turns Sixty, But What’s Next?

Posted by admin Published in Land Rover

A week spent behind the wheel of a $96,600 Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged was an opulent way to celebrate the brand’s sixtieth birthday. It’s a magnificent ride, no question, but its unconscionable thirst (12/18 mpg, city/highway; far less with a heavy right foot) and high-maintenance reputation do immediate a prickly question: Can Land Rover outlive in an America of four-dollar-plus gasoline?

Inspired by the World War II-era jeep (the original “center-steer” prototype, pictured above left, was actually built atop a Willys MB chassis), Land Rover the company was born in 1947, spawned from Britain’s Rover Car Company. by the years, it’s seen a parade of owners with pockets of varying depth: British Leyland, British Aerospace, BMW, the Ford Motor Company, and now India’s Tata Group.

Times are hardy for venerable marque — at least here in North America. Sales are down a startling 44 percent from final year, despite record global sales of 227,000. The big tally was largely the aftermath of huge volume increases in Russia and China (up 82 and 63 percent, respectively), in that country, despite a mid-year blip from the introduction of the new LR2, sales continued to soften. The brand’s

twelve-month tally of 2,557 vehicles (down from 4,211 during the same period a year ago) is about 200 cars more than the industry’s biggest loser, Hummer.

Photos courtesy of Land Rover.

So can the type be saved here? In Europe, Land Rover has rolled out a V-8 diesel version of the Range Rover that purportedly returns 32 percent better fuel economy than the (normally aspirated) gasoline V-8. No mention of a U.S. version. And we were impressed with the LRX concept, unveiled at that year’s Detroit show, which featured a “highly fuel-efficient, U.S. Federal-specification, 2.0-liter, turbodiesel hybrid, capable of running on bio-diesel.” Unfortunately, a production version is reportedly still three years absent.

In the meanwhile, Land Rover’s global presence seems secure. Tata and the great-grandson of its founder, Jamsetji Tata, aren’t shy in stating their love for the make and its vehicles. Whether Tata’s affection can rejuvenate Land Rover in America as fuel prices climb, however, only moment will tell.