Autoblog

The new Range Rover TDV8 is so powerful and so refined, the automaker says, that there is a distinct danger of the driver mistaking it for a gasoline-powered model and using the wrong type of fuel. The theory is that the drivers will simply be awed into delirium by the TDV8's sublime nature and that their memory of any event prior to their visit to the gas station will be effectively erased. We can just imagine the inner dialog taking place at the pump:

"Hmmm. My word... Did I buy the petrol or diesel Range Rover? It's just so splendid, I can't remember. Bah! Petrol it is!"

Moments later, a very expensive mistake transpires.

But never fear, Land Rover has come up with a way to (hopefully) eliminate the problem. The new TDV8's filler head incorporates a mechanical shutter that slams shut if a gasoline nozzle is inserted. It's quite clever, actually. The gas nozzles are thinner than the diesel nozzles, so they can extend further down the filler neck. If the nozzle passes a certain point, the shutter closes. Diesel nozzles can't engage the mechanism, all but ensuring mistake-free fueling.

We'd call the whole thing idiot-proof, but we've learned never to underestimate that particular demographic. Where there's a will -- trust us on this -- there's a way.

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: Land Rover]

This November, Land Rover will begin the sale of an updated Range Rover Sport that will come equipped with either a 2.7-liter, turbo-diesel V6, or a new TDV8 that produces 40-percent more power and torque than its six-cylinder brethren. Only you can't have either, because they'll only be available in Europe.

While covering all the goings on in Paris last week, the Range Rover press event didn't make it on our short list and that's when news of the new diesel debuted. With a price tag just shy of $100,000, all the luxury accoutrements you'd expect are included, along with some newly developed/acquired technology in the form of adaptive cruise control, dual alarms, voice recognition and an adaptive automatic transmission.

The revised Range Rover Sport we get stateside will hopefully benefit from some of these new features, just don't expect the diesel version to make it over anytime soon.

[Source: Pistonheads]