Autoblog

Over the weekend, Dylan Weiss from Cry Havoc Productions, Inc. let us know that his latest motorcycle-specific documentary went live at Discovery's Turbo online site. We've spent some time watching the footage, and we think it's awesome. Focusing in on Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, BMW, Ducati, MV Agusta and Bimota, the crew took plenty of footage home with them and managed to ride some of the greatest modern sportbikes ever created along the way. Best of all, over four hours of video is available online for free at their mini-site, broken down into 50 segments.

The whole shebang was shot in High Definition, so we have some serious hopes that it will air on The Discovery Channel, be offered on DVD or both. It's extremely entertaining and we definitely recommend checking it out. Thanks for the tip, Dylan!

[Source: Cry Havoc Productions, Discovery Turbo]

Over the past half century Land Rovers have become synonymous with naturalists and peacekeepers the world over. The Land Rover factory in Solihull, England turned out the first of those famous off-road vehicles 59 years ago and yesterday, the four millionth example of the breed rolled out the plant and into the hands of the Born Free Foundation. Since these vehicles have so often been used explore and film nature, the historic model will be used to help preserve it.

The Land Rover LR3 was accepted Born Free's Founder patron Joanna Lumley and will be used by the Foundation as a Rapid Response Rescue vehicle starting this summer in England, rescuing and releasing stranded marine animals. Lumley is the actress best known for her portrayal of past-her-expiry-date party girl Patsy on the BBC series Absolutely Fabulous.

[Source: Ford]

Land Rover will offer only 300 copies of its Discovery 3 Pursuit package in the UK at £30,000 (about $58,500). You can have one in any color you want as long as it's Java Black with a matching ebony leather interior.

The seven-seater 4x4 has 19" wheels, chrome accents all around, and is powered by LR's 190hp TDV6. An automatic transmission adds £1,000 to the price.

It's a beautiful combination of beauty and brawn for a pretty penny.

Read the full press release after the jump.

Click to enlarge

This is only for the UK, which is kind of a shame. Some of us Autobloggers live in frozen regions where cargo vans fear to tread. Of course, we could pony up for a Quigley, but a Landie offers its stellar air suspension, storied capabilities, and more comfort. For commercial users, vans often make sense, but for those of us who aren't hauling furniture, the new Land Rover Discovery 3 Commercial sounds like it'd be just the ticket. The Disco, which we know in the US as the LR3, has had some fairy dust sprinkled on it in order to receive tax refunds offered to businesses by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Post continues after the jump.

[Source: Land Rover]

We just saw Subaru's new lineup of rally drivers at the LA Auto Show last week, but little did we know we were in the presence of insanity. Ken Block, driver of the #43 car was on hand to show his team some support as they announced the contract extension of Travis Pastrana. It's hard to believe now, because Ken looked like a relatively normal guy, but he is certifiably insane. Who in his right mind would take a rally car, even one as capable as the WRX, and launch it 130 feet through the air?

Tipped to this story by 0-60 magazine, we managed to track down the YouTube video to show the jump in extremely poor quality, but in an attempt to prove that the still photos accompanying the story don't get taken for fakes. It seems cable fixture The Discovery Channel put this jump together for Stunt Junkies, "a TV Show where each episode revolves around a fearless feat never performed before," according to 0-60. Stunt Junkies shows how stunts are done, taking it from concept to completion. This particular episode is tentatively set to air in February. Click through the read link to hear what Block had to say about the jump, the X-Games, and fellow rallyers Colin McRae and Travis Pastrana. And to see some killer still shots too!

[Source: 0-60 Magazine]

Hopefully the potential dispersal of the Ford Premier Group won't affect this wonderful Jaguar/Land Rover collaboration that is being rumored. By borrowing aluminum (aluminium?) expertise from Jaguar, future Land Rovers could be as much as 1,000 pounds lighter than current models. Utilizing Jaguar's rivet-bonded aluminum monocoque body design, Land Rover could continue to build large luxury SUVs that are lighter and return even better fuel economy.

According to What Car's inside source, the new Range Rover will be the first all-alloy, monocoque-bodied 4x4 when it debuts in 2010. "There's no decision yet, and we don't have to decide for a couple of years, but it seems a logical step to investigate," said their source.

As they further point out, the Discovery and Range Rover Sport are both due for replacement a couple of years after the Range Rover, and it would make economic sense to share the technology across as many models as possible to exact the best economies of scale for L-R. It was expected that the new RR might switch to Land Rover's semi-monocoque steel T5 platform, which underpins the Discovery and the Range Rover Sport, but this makes a whole lot more sense.

Curb weight for the current Range Rover is about 6,000 pounds, but with a similar 15% weight savings as Jag has witnessed, Land Rover could get that down to less than 5,000 while maintaining the off-road toughness for which its vehicles are known. The boost in fuel economy and performance wouldn't hurt either.

[Source: What Car?]

Discovery Communications, the company that brought American Chopper, Extreme Air and, of course, Discovery Channel, to the masses has announced a new channel, Turbo. As its name implies, Turbo will be covering all things vehicular. Already shown overseas in Latin America and Iberia, the U.S. version kicks off on July 4th with more than 250 video clips covering everything from tutorials to motor sports. A video-on-demand service will start towards the end of the year while a Turbo-brand program block will bow on TLC with new episodes of American Chopper and Overhaulin'. A third series will also be introduced at that time as well.

A press release can be found after the jump. Kudos for the tip, emulous1974!

Related:
I want my MTTV
Top Gear on the Discovery Channel

[Source: Mediaweek, Discovery Communications, Inc.]

Land Rover has announced that the 2007 edition of the Range Rover will replace last year's 3-liter BMW-sourced diesel with a new V8 turbodiesel. Autocar reports that, while yielding virtually the same fuel economy as its predecessor, the new powerplant lends considerably more oomph to the King of the Range, cutting its 0-60 mph time by more than 4 seconds, to a downright respectable 8.5 seconds.

The luxury ute gets a few other mechanical upgrades to go with the new engine, including the LR3/Discovery model's five-mode Terrain Response system, and the supercharged Range Rover's electronic rear differential and Brembo brakes.

[Sources: Autocar; Land Rover]

The 2006 edition of the Land Rover G4 Challenge will kick off this weekend in Bangkok, Thailand. The 18 competitors, selected from more than 10,000 applicants from around the world, will drive, climb, kayak, abseil, bike and navigate over a 4,000 km route spanning four countries and two continents in 28 days.

As one might expect, off-road driving is the centerpiece of the competition, but the epic event requires much more than driving skill - testing the competitors' initiative, strategy, physical fitness, sporting skills and teamwork.

This year's running of the Challenge covers the jungles of Laos, urban challenges in Bangkok and Rio de Janeiro, and the mountains of Bolivia. For more background and updates during the event, check out the Land Rover G4 Challenge website.

[Source: Land Rover]