Autoblog

Land Rovers have run Jaguar's rorty AJ V8 engine since Ford got tired of sourcing engines from BMW. CAR magazine has dug up information on some mules running around in Finland with a new 4997cc engine underhood. Their photographers also caught the vehicles while they hung out in a parking lot full of tantalizing 2 and 7 series Volvos. While the AJ is a great motor, it's well into its design life. Range Rover's new engine is being developed with Bosch, and sports direct fuel injection to boost efficiency while keeping power up and emissions down. Output is rumored at 350 horsepower in naturally aspirated form and 460 ponies come to the party when a supercharger pressurizes the intake. The new engine will wind up in the engine compartment of Land Rovers, Range Rovers, and Jaguars, and will be part of a freshening of Landies and Rangies expected to drop soon.

[Source: CAR]

Click on the image above to view our high-resolution image gallery.

It's had a lot of challengers, and to stay at the top, Land Rover has been rolling out consistent updates to its flagship Range Rover model. Last year it was the upgraded engines: the 305-hp 4.4-liter V8 and the supercharged 400-hp 4.2-liter V8. For this year, the Range Rover gets upgrades to the interior and to its traction systems.

Inside, the Range Rover's luxurious cabin has been updated with a new instrument panel, air-con unit, new airbags and new trim, switchgear and storage compartments. The front seats have been outfitted with new head restraints designed to minimize whiplash, as well as an in-seat air-cooling system (optional on HSE and standard on Supercharged models). Underneath, the Land Rover's Terrain Response system has been fitted as standard equipment, as well as an electronic rear differential (which, like the seat cooling system, is optional on HSE and standard on Supercharged models) to supplement the center e-diff. There's also a new electronic parking brake that automatically disengages when you start driving.

The new changes might not amount to much, as Land Rover draws up plans for the Range Rover's all-aluminum replacement, but with heavy competition from Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, Land Rover can't afford to rest on its name alone.

Press release after the jump, and high-res images in the gallery below.

Audi of America yesterday released details of its full lineup of 2008 models, along with the changes that will accompany them. The details include the fact that the A4 and A6 series will get the S-Line treatment as standard. There are also two new packages, Titanium and Audi Exclusive, with which to deck out the cars. Click through the jump to read the press release, which also recaps (but doesn't have much new to say) on the 300 S4 Cabriolets that will come to the US, and the S5.

With Ford selling off parts of its Premium Automotive Group (PAG) one at a time, it remains uncertain if Land Rover and Jaguar will end up under the same ownership in the future. In the meantime, Land Rover is collaborating with Jaguar on a future flagship model that will draw on Jaguar's expertise to produce a new Range Rover with a lighter-weight construction that could expand both upmarket and down.

Based on a new aluminum structure called Premium Lightweight Architecture, the next Range Rover is anticipated to shed about 40% off the unpainted unibody's weight, and some 800 pounds off the curb weight. Applying the magic formula of less weight and more power from a revised engine line-up, also benefiting from Jaguar collaboration, would contribute to improved performance and fuel economy. An all-new 5.0-liter V8 could produce about 350 hp, or as much as 460 supercharged, while the existing range of diesels are anticipated to be bored out from 2.7 liters to 3 and from 3.6 liters to 4. If Land Rover chose to shoehorn in the smaller Jaguar/Land Rover turbodiesel into the lightweight Range Rover, it would create a lower model in the range, while the top-end, supercharged version could fetch as much as $200,000 and feature a full spectrum of luxury equipment to anchor the SUV's position at the top of the luxury sport-ute market.

A new styling direction, led by new design chief Phil Simmons, is expected to include shorter overhangs and de-emphasized greenhouse to give a tauter and less top-heavy appearance. If given the green light for development by Ford or by any future parent company, the Range Rover would be the first in a series of new models from Land Rover, to be followed by a new Discovery (LR2), Freelander (LR3), Defender and Range Rover Sport.

[Source: Motor Authority via AutoWeek]

Imagine you're overweight. A friend of yours tells you about a diet he got great results from. If you do the one simple thing he did, you'll lose around 1,000 pounds. You'd try it, wouldn't you? That's what's in store for the next generation Range Rover, with plans to give the Posh-UV an all-aluminum chassis.

The newer, lighter Range won't arrive until 2012, but engineers have sought approval to build it with a rivet-bonded aluminum monocoque. To do so, it would employ lessons and technology from the Jaguar XJ sedan. In light of the cost involved, such construction would also be spread throughout the Land Rover line. Weight savings for the Range Rover would be around 40-percent, equating to anywhere from 300-500 kg over the current version, a change that would seem to be all pro and no con. Engines would also be borrowed from Jag -- the same lumps expected to power the XF sedan. The 350-450 HP engines would go a lot further in an aluminum Range, as would a speculated hybrid version.

A decision on the aluminum option hasn't been made yet, but it is expected to get the go-ahead.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Company officials swear it's not in the cards, but industry sources are suggesting that Aston Martin's new ownership is mulling over the possibility of building a mid-engined supercar to top the range.

When the announcement was made that Aston was going independent, CEO Ulrich Bez showed a product line-up that featured the codename NPX at the top, positioned above the $400,000 Rapide four-door coupe, which the automaker, infused with new capital and bolstered by growing sales, approved for production.

Currently the entire Aston line-up is based on the same front-engine, rear-wheel-drive platform, and according to the company's five-year plan, that's not set to change. Not yet, at least, but that's not to say it couldn't change after 2010 when the plan expires and the automaker will have to set a new direction.

This isn't the first time Aston was reported to have been considering a mid-engined model, as the entry-level V8 Vantage was originally planned as a mid-engined model to face off against the Ferrari 360 Modena. If the NPX gets the green light, however, the sites will be set considerably higher on the Enzo's successor.

Related posts:

• The DBX: Aston Martin's forthcoming supercar
• Aston Martin developing a DBX?

[Source: AutoWeek]

We enjoy reporting on even the most removed niche vehicles on the market, but here's something that will only be of interest to drug lords living in the hillside jungles of South America, because few others would have use for an armored, stretched Range Rover (with the possible exception of the British royals).

This Range Rover has been stretched by 25 centimeters (about ten inches), primarily to the benefit of its rear seat occupants. The body panels and floor have been lined and plated in Kevlar, the same stuff police use in their bulletproof vests. Reinforced windows have been fitted that can even withstand volleys from automatic machine guns and sniper rifles. Match all that with an Explosafe rupture- and fire-proof fuel tank and the requisite run-flat tires, and you've got yourself a very swanky armored personnel carrier.

Since such a vehicle is likely to spend most of its life helping occupants evade capture by US drug enforcement agents, it's only fitting that it has been outfitted with all that gear by First Defense, an American personal security firm.

[Source: Sybarites]