Land Rover unveils a vision of its future at the NAIAS (Detroit Show) in January 2008, with the world debut of the LRX concept - a bold evolution of Land Rover design that signals the brand's shift into new areas of the market, while remaining true to its core values. As the company prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary during 2008, the three-door LRX, with its more compact size, lighter weight and sustainability-focused technologies, clearly addresses the needs of a changing world.

"The LRX concept delivers the powerful message that we are as serious about sustainability as we are confident about the continuing relevance and desirability of our vehicles," says Phil Popham, Land Rover's managing director. "LRX is in every respect a Land Rover, but it's a very different Land Rover.

"LRX has unmistakable Land Rover design and the breadth of capability that you'd expect from our vehicles. But it carries those essentials into a segment where the brand has never been before, and with a proposed level of efficiency that would make it one of the cleanest vehicles in its class. It is Land Rover's way of affirming the brand's responsible approach to future product development. At this stage, LRX is purely a concept, designed to help us develop our thinking as well as gauge customer reaction - but this feels like a hugely exciting direction to take."

Compact and premium

LRX is described as a cross-coupé and dramatically extends the scope of what Land Rover represents. Though smaller than the Freelander 2 / LR2, LRX was conceived as a premium car, designed to appeal to new customers in the luxury and executive sector - those who want many of the benefits of a 4x4 and the presence of a larger vehicle, but in a more compact package.

The first all-new Land Rover revealed since Gerry McGovern became the company's design director, LRX is a natural extension of the Land Rover range, complementing the existing models and helping to define a new segment. Its many recognisable Land Rover design cues include bold new interpretations of the signature clamshell bonnet, the floating roof and the solid 'wheel-at-each-corner' stance.

"LRX is a design born out of passion for the brand, but it is different, relevant, engaging and exciting - because Land Rover has never built ordinary cars," says Gerry McGovern. "LRX has a highly desirable identity and the design alludes strongly to its capability, while clearly underlining our forward-looking philosophy - it's a Land Rover that would be comfortable on Bond Street or Fifth Avenue, but wouldn't flinch at getting its wheels dirty."

Its compact size is one of its greatest assets, which will appeal to anyone who wants the versatile ability of an agile 4x4 with the cachet of the Land Rover name. In addition, its lower weight and the reduced aerodynamic drag resulting from the smaller frontal area give significant gains in fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions.

The LRX concept also adopts intelligent power management systems and other technologies first shown by Land Rover in the Land_e concept in 2006. Further details of LRX's powertrain and sustainability technologies will be released at the Detroit Show.

Extending 'breadth of capability'

The positioning of LRX could be described as moving subtly from traditional SUV to crossover, with its more car-like appearance and dynamics that are sportier and on-road biased. But while its character is underlined by excellent agility, handling and performance, LRX also promises the widest breadth of capability in the class. To help achieve this, it has full-time four-wheel drive and Hill Descent Control, as well as a special version of Land Rover's acclaimed Terrain Response system, to optimise traction on difficult surfaces ranging from icy roads to wet grass, gravel and snow. But to reflect LRX's on-road bias, Terrain Response also gains a new 'Eco' mode for lower emissions during urban driving.

The design of LRX was developed entirely in-house, driven by a passion to create a car that truly represents Land Rover's future thinking. It has a very dynamic profile, with a distinctive taper to the floating roofline and a muscular shoulder running the length of the car, accentuated by the rising beltline. The glazing wraps right around LRX, with no exposed pillars, creating a bold design graphic. The architectural structure of the upper body can be glimpsed through the windows and roof - echoing some of the best contemporary buildings.

Pushing the wheels out to the four corners helps give the car its purposeful stance, and its front-end design makes a powerful and instantly recognisable statement of Land Rover's identity. There are new interpretations of Land Rover's traditional clamshell bonnet, distinctive headlamps, jewel-like, tapering blade indicator clusters front and rear, and subtle side vents. LRX's wheelarches are wide but softly integrated, housing 20-inch alloy wheels.

The carefully sculpted corners dramatically reduce the car's visual overhangs front and rear. With its perforated two-bar grille, door releases concealed in the car's shoulders and graphic details 'punched out' of the smooth body surfaces rather than overlaid on them, LRX is beautifully proportioned and elegantly simple - but very dramatic and distinctive.

Impeccable, premium interior

The interior of the LRX concept clearly demonstrates how a compact Land Rover can still be roomy, practical, versatile - and sophisticated. The impeccably executed cabin features a combination of soft leathers in rich tan and dark chocolate, with polished aluminium details.

The 'fast' sloping architecture of the centre console reflects LRX's sporty dynamics, as does the distinctive binnacle over the instrument cluster. The electronic display uses 'floating' LCD graphics to create a three-dimensional look that can be personalised for different drivers, as well as interacting with LRX's touch-screen display.

The instrument graphics present data in layers depending on their level of importance, to give maximum relevant information with minimum distraction. When appropriate, displayed information transfers between the main instrument cluster and the touch screen. Further adding to LRX's involving personality, the different drivetrain modes are matched by changes in the cabin's background lighting colour - green in economy, red in sports and blue in standard mode.

Clever use of space

Although LRX is compact, clever use of space makes it impressively roomy, and many neat design touches maximise its practicality. A second touch-screen area gives a fully interactive display and control for LRX's iPhone docking facility. On either side of the horizontally-split, power-operated tailgate, removable and power-adjustable speakers include an iPod docking station. There is also a coolbox, plus a bottle chiller that can be clipped to the lowered tailgate. This also has integral aluminium cupholders between two padded seating areas, for a new twist on the idea of a traditional Land Rover tailgate lunch.

Every interior design detail combines to maximise both actual space and the feeling of space. The clear roof is supported by a 'spider' frame running into the A-pillars, and the rear quarter pillars have glazed apertures for improved visibility and a lighter feel in the cabin.

LRX's distinctive seats 'float' on individual plinths and have open frameworks to reinforce the impression of light, airy interior space - while also creating useful under-seat and under-floor stowage areas. The clever, powered mechanism of the seat backs maximises interior flexibility and helps create a large, flat storage area when needed, complete with multiple tie-down options. The generous load space and through-loading option also help accommodate bikes, skis or surfboards.

"Flexible load-carrying capacity is fundamental to the concept of LRX," says Gerry McGovern. "With this car, we've interpreted the idea of Land Rover 'breadth of capability' to be more about versatility and on-road dynamics than about ultimate off-roading. This meets the needs of the new customers that we believe would be attracted by this type of car; they will not only appreciate LRX's flexibility, but will also recognise that it has been packaged with the highest levels of precision."

Sustainable product design

The structures of the seats and instrument panel are elegant enough to be left exposed - one novel approach that Land Rover's designers have taken to reduce vehicle weight. Another example is replacing the glass for the side windows and roof with polycarbonate, which is around 40% lighter.

Even the choice of premium-quality trim materials reflects Land Rover's deep thinking about sustainability, with vegetable-tanned leather (chromium-free, so better for recycling), extensive use of aluminium (both lightweight and readily recyclable) and carpeting made of felt from sustainable sources. And the luxurious, vanilla-coloured 'fine suede' on the door inserts and headliner is a 100% recycled material made from used plastic bottles.

"We are determined to make sustainability a key element in our future product design and the way we do business, while still creating vehicles that have a strong emotional appeal as well as fulfilling people's practical needs," says Phil Popham. "No single technology delivers all the answers to whole-life sustainability, but the LRX concept brings together some of the ideas for the future that interest us, integrating them into a car that we believe represents an exciting way forward for Land Rover." [Source: Land Rover]

It's no more a Freelander than the LR3 is a Discovery, but the LR2 is nonetheless ready to go as the new entry Landie. We've been waiting for this day ever since we concluded the last Freelander was a cocked-up, overpriced mess. We're hoping this one, built on Ford's C1/P1 platform — like the Volvo S40, Mazda3 and European Focus — will do for the 'lander what the LR3 did for the 'scovery. Of course, addressing the last model's most obvious shortcoming is a new, transverse-mounted 3.2-liter inline six, producing 230 hp, that also shows up in the Volvo S80 (share those parts, PAG!). It's linked to a new shiftable six-speed autobox with the CommandShift option introduced in the LR3 (and spreading to the Range Rover this year). There's also more head and legroom, a monocoque body structure and a range of off-roading tech borrowed from its larger siblings. No word on price, but figure somewhere in the thirties. Click through for more pics.

The fast-lane boys at Leftlane News just got their hands on a marketing piece that reveals the upcoming Land Rover Freelander, set to be unveiled at the British International Motor Show this summer. Looks like designers split the difference between the Range Rover and the mid-line LR3 to derive a new look for the next-generation Freebird, which will ride on the Ford/Volvo C1-P1 platform.

2007 Land Rover LR2 / Freelander 2 revealed [Leftlane News]

Related:
More on the Land Rover Freelander [internal]

Land Rover's next-gen Freelander is almost here, which means we'll finally be able to consign the current model to the ocean floor. We're not saying it's bad, mind you, but Yugo called, and it wants its quality-control back. The new model, with its Ford C1/P1 platform, cleaner shape, Volvo engines and (hopefully) LR3-level build quality, looks like it may just be able to cash the cheque the first generation forged and handed to a liquor-store clerk in Topeka. We're optimistic.

Land Rover Freelander on the Road Spy Photos [World Car Fans]

Related:
More on the Freelander [internal]

The artistes at Germany's AutoBild turned their digital tablets on Ford's new range of compact utes on the way, predicting what the European Focus C-Max, the Land Rover Freelander and the Volvo XC50 will look like. All of them are expected to face down the RAV4s of the world in the next two years, though only the second two of the three — all of which are to be built on Ford's flexible C1/P1 platform — will be coming to the US. The Freelander will be the first to arrive, in late 2006, followed by the others in 2007.

Family Planning (via Google Translate) [AutoBild]

Related:
More on the Freelander, XC50 and C-Max

There's not a whole lot we haven't seen of the next-generation Land Rover Freelander, ahead of its launch at the Paris show later this year. A new set of spy shots on World Car Fans confirm little more than that the new little Landy wears a coat during cold weather testing. Still, spies have gathered rumors that there may be an even smaller, front-drive LR on the way. That we'd have to see to believe.

New Land Rover Freelander Spy Photos [World Car Fans]

Related:
Spy Photos: Still More on the New Freelander [internal]

Were Land Rovers flukey vehicles in the past? Sure, the original Land Rover was one of the more important vehicles in history, especially for Marlon Perkins types. And the Range Rover was the signature vehicle of the landed gentry on country holiday. But with the new RR and the LR3 developed under the guidance of BMW and Ford, Land Rover has begun to move away from its cultish roots and into the mainstream. What it lacked was a viable entry-level lux-ute, and it looks like the new Freelander will finally fill the niche, judging from the spy shots and specs posted on at MPH's site.

Built on the C1 platform which underpins the S40, Mazda3 and the Focus that they're not giving us, the new Freelander will apparently a feature Volvo-sourced, transversely-mounted inline six, with a 2.3L Ford five-cylinder diesel also rumored to be slotted between the front framerails. Designed to compete with the X3, the new Freelander rolls its tongue over much more of Land Rover's new design language, which we think is a good thing, as the previous utelet was simply too wimpy-looking (dare we say, Roveresque? We dare.) to even really pretend to be a modern Land Rover.

The Latest Land Rover Freelander Spy Photos [MPH]

Related:
Spy Photos: More on the New Land Rover Freelander [Internal]

Under Ford's tutelage, Land Rover may finally have its maddening execution problem licked once and for all. For example, the original Freelander was a good idea, and had a decent enough design, but the unspeakable execution of it was redeemed only by a generous warrantee program and a large-enough pool of gullible yuppie sots. This time, however, LR is gunning for greatness, basing the next-generation Freelander on the flexible Ford/Volvo C1/D1 platform (Volvo S40, Mazda3, etc.) and looking upward at the LR3 for inspiration. It's worth a trip to the $0.50 bet window.

2007 Land Rover Freelander Spy Photos [MPH]

Related:
Spy Photos: 2007 Land Rover Freelander [internal]

Land Rover is getting closer to completing the replacement for its dismal Freelander, arguably the only small SUV with true off-road capability. Unfortunately, the current model is an exercise in ill-conception, with a sluggish, put-upon road feel, an interior that would give Harry Houdini a fit of claustrophobia and below-average reliability ratings. The new model, coming out in 2007, could change all that. It'll be built on a modified version of Ford's successful C1 small-car platform, will have a more spacious interior and may sport a Volvo-derived straight six.

2007 Freelander Still Under Wraps [Edmunds]

Related:
Spy Photos: New Land Rover Freelander; Ford Motor Company: Badges? We Engineer Some Stinkin' Badges [internal]