UK offers £27 million to Land Rover to build LRX
Land Rover LRX Concept - Click above for a high-res gallery
When Land Rover unveiled the LRX concept at the Detroit Auto Show in 2008, it said the CUV was "Conceived as a 2.0-litre, Federalised, turbodiesel hybrid, with potential CO2 emissions of 120 g/km." That appealed to the UK government, which has confirmed it has extended a grant offer of up to £27 million to Land Rover to produce an all-new vehciles based on the LRX. Land Rover says it will make a decision on the project, which could cost up to £400 million, later this year. If the car is a go, it would "be the smallest, lightest and most efficient [Land Rover] has ever produced." That's not exactly a monumental thing, considering Land Rover's lineup, but it is the right direction to go. You can watch a video about the LRX here.
Land Rover called the LRX the company's second concept vehicle in 60 years, although that's debatable depending on who you ask. Whatever the case, the LRX was a hit, winning the "Concept Truck of the Year" award in the North American Concept Vehicle of the Year Awards and generating plenty of praise. Is it enough to spend £400m (minus £27m)? Looks like we're going to find out soon enough. More details in the press release below the fold.
Gallery: Land Rover LRX Concept
PRESS RELEASE:
LAND ROVER CONFIRMS GRANT OFFER TO BUILD NEW MODEL
Gaydon, Warwickshire, 11 March 2009
The UK Government has confirmed a grant offer of up to £27 million is to be made available to Land Rover for the production of an all-new car. The company is due to make a final decision on the the go-ahead of the project at its award-winning plant in Halewood, on Merseyside, later this year.
The car would be based on Land Rover's acclaimed LRX Concept vehicle, first shown at the Detroit Show last year, and would be the smallest, lightest and most efficient it has ever produced.
"We welcome the Government's support for this project, which would form a key part of our future product plans and which we very much want to put into production," said Phil Popham, Managing Director of Land Rover.
The grant offer will be made available under the Government's Grant for Business Investment scheme and is an important contribution towards the overall £400 million cost of the project. This is separate from the broader automotive support package currently being unveiled by the Government.
Although it still has to go through a number of approval gateways in the product development process before getting the final go-ahead, Land Rover has also confirmed that the new car would be a key addition to the Range Rover family of luxury vehicles.
Phil Popham said, "Our engineering feasibility study has shown that we can very successfully deliver Range Rover levels of quality, drivability and breadth of performance in a more compact, more sustainable, package. Feedback from the most extensive customer research we have ever undertaken also fully supports our belief that a production version of the LRX Concept would further raise the desirability of our brand and absolutely meet all those expectations.
"It would be the smallest, lightest and most efficient Range Rover that we've ever built," Phil added. "The compact size, lighter weight and sustainability-focused technologies of the LRX Concept showed how Land Rover is planning to respond to the needs of a changing world. Despite the current economic challenges, we remain committed to investing for the future, to continue to deliver relevant vehicles for our customers, with the outstanding breadth of capability for which we are world-renowned."
The new Range Rover would embrace excellent levels of refinement and all-round capability and also introduce new powertrain options, providing a major step forward in enabling the implementation of Land Rover's e-terrain technologies strategy and achievement of its goal to exceed a 20 per cent improvement in CO2 emissions.
"Both the design and size of the LRX Concept have generated a hugely positive reaction wherever it has been seen and we've also gathered fresh insights on what potential owners would look for in a production equivalent. That knowledge is now being applied to the process of refining the vehicle as it heads towards final approval," said Phil.
The Halewood facility employs 2000 people and is a recipient of the J.D. Power Gold Standard. It currently produces the Land Rover Freelander 2 and Jaguar X-TYPE.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
luv_my_car 11:33AM (3/11/2009)
That would be one nice SUV. I hope they start the production ASAP.
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zamafir 12:46PM (3/11/2009)
It's not an SUV. A car the size of an A3 is not an SUV. It's not even a CUV. That's why LR and the UK are so keen to build it, hatchbacks are new territory for the brand.
Quan 3:56AM (3/12/2009)
Well regardless of what it is Zamafir I would love to have one.
Aprime 11:35AM (3/11/2009)
That would be a change from the usual stuff Land Rover does.
I'm rather surprised the UK government is actually willing to hand them out money for them to build it, though.
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Flashpoint 11:42AM (3/11/2009)
I'm not, Land Rover and Jaguar sales are stagnating under an increasingly ailing Tata Motors.
Aprime 12:25PM (3/11/2009)
I'm just surprised they *WANT* to finance the development of a future product. That's rather unusual from governments, because the last time I heard they'd rather accuse automakers of doing X or Y incorrectly and hand them out money to keep doing it.
Taglane 11:38AM (3/11/2009)
Great-looking vehicle. I hope they stick to the concept, but there is always that 'what if'. If the UK Gummint is paying them, it'd better be a real knockout like the concept is. I know I (and most of the writers here @ Autoblog) have a weakness for 2 door SUV's.
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MajorGeek 11:51AM (3/11/2009)
Wow!
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Gardiner Westbound 11:53AM (3/11/2009)
Looks a lot like the 2003-2008 Infiniti FX.
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Will 12:14PM (3/11/2009)
Saab-rover anyone?
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spike 12:10PM (3/11/2009)
One of the more interesting concepts of recent years. Though I'm not sure what 27MM in funding would really do.
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J 12:12PM (3/11/2009)
I think this vehicle was ahead of it's time when it was initially revealed, and that the time is now to let it loose. Modern design, AWD and great fuel economy brought me and my business partner to our local rover dealer (we're one and two on the list). If the price is reasonable (under 40k base) then rover has life support. Remember, it's smaller than the Freelander. Check out their microsite: http://lrx.landrover.com/index.html
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MikeofLA 12:13PM (3/11/2009)
Nice gesture, but doesn't it cost in the billions to develop and produce a new model vehicle? I love this truck, but don't know what 27 million "Ls" will do to get it into showrooms.
It's like offering someone a dollar to encourage them to buy a bottle of Dom...
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zamafir 1:58PM (3/11/2009)
sigh. It's not a truck, and it doesn't cost billions, it can, but there are many steps automakers take to minimize development costs.
gowen 12:19PM (3/11/2009)
ummm, 27 million !!??? what are they expecting for that? to help design the rear tailgate ? If that is all it takes to make a meaningful contribution to developing a car, we should be waist deep in new cars.
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Geoff 1:16PM (3/11/2009)
THIS is a Land Rover???
Where's the ground clearance?
Where are the dual solid axles with locking differentials?
Does ANYONE who's shopping for a sports coupe ever think "I'll go check out the Land Rover dealership to see what they're offering these days!"
Yet EVERYONE who's shopping for an off-road vehicle who checks out the Land Rover's offerings will be disappointed with the overpriced faux-by-fours and "brand dilution" resulting from this garbage.
The same thing is happening with Jeep and their ridiculous Patriot, Compass, and other independent-suspension offerings. But at least Jeep dealers still have the Wrangler as their brand identity's "saving grace."
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zamafir 2:10PM (3/11/2009)
I'm not sure what people keep failing to understand. It's a hatchback. It's shorter and a bit longer than the A3. This is not a truck, it's not an suv, it's a simple branding exercise for Land Rover to sell to a lucrative market, that occupied by mini, etc, that it is incapable of selling to right now. Just as the Cayenne has no relevant bearing to the 911 GT3, so to does this concept have NOTHING to do with traditional Land Rover vehicles.
why is it so hard.
Hike15 9:00PM (3/11/2009)
same exact argument people make about the Porsche Cayenne. it may dilute the sports car brand image, but much of the money the earn from it keeps amazing cars like the 911 and Cayman and Boxster at the top or near the top of their class. this car has potential to really help LR and stop them from loosing money. True, it may slightly dilute the brands off road image, but it will help the all mighty range rover and defender. And isn't there already a RR Sport??
Isaac 1:57PM (3/11/2009)
Screw 2.0 turbodiesel. Stuff Jaguar V8 in there and give Infiniti FX50 buyers some thoughts.
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P.V. 7:36PM (3/11/2009)
Hey, it's a sweet CUV. Build it!
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