It's being reported that the 2011 Range Rover (in Europe at least) will be getting a new diesel engine option to replace the current 3.6-liter V8 diesel. The new engine scheduled to launch this fall is a 4.4-liter V8 with 308 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. The diesels currently used by Land Rover (and Jaguar) are produced at the Dagenham engine plant owned by Ford, Jaguar-Land Rover's former parent.
You may recall that, until late 2008, Ford had been planning to add a diesel V8 to the F150 powertrain lineup and it was expected to launch right about ... now. That diesel V8 was rumored to displace about 4.4-liters. You may also recall that at the time, Ford still owned Land Rover and Jaguar. We haven't been able to get confirmation yet from Land Rover or Ford but we are guessing that this new Land Rover diesel is the same engine once destined for the F150 and then shelved. We checked with truck expert Mike Levine at PickupTrucks.com who believes this is in fact the same engine. According to Mike, the 4.4 is being built at Ford's Chihuahua engine plant where the new 6.7-liter "Scorpion" diesel for the Super Duty pickups is also manufactured.
If so, the fact that it is being built for the luxury SUV means that it could potentially be revived for the pickup. The fact that it was at one time destined for the U.S. market may also mean that it has been designed with U.S. emissions standards in mind and it could eventually appear in American Range Rovers. Given the success of diesels in German SUVs, it certainly seems plausible.
Update: A Ford official has confirmed that the new Land Rover diesel V8 is being supplied from Ford's Chihuahua engine plant. However, we were reminded that Ford never officially confirmed details of the planned diesel for the F150 so it cannot be officially confirmed that this is in fact the same engine. Given all the other information it does seem to be a reasonable inference.
[Source: World Car Fans]
You may recall that, until late 2008, Ford had been planning to add a diesel V8 to the F150 powertrain lineup and it was expected to launch right about ... now. That diesel V8 was rumored to displace about 4.4-liters. You may also recall that at the time, Ford still owned Land Rover and Jaguar. We haven't been able to get confirmation yet from Land Rover or Ford but we are guessing that this new Land Rover diesel is the same engine once destined for the F150 and then shelved. We checked with truck expert Mike Levine at PickupTrucks.com who believes this is in fact the same engine. According to Mike, the 4.4 is being built at Ford's Chihuahua engine plant where the new 6.7-liter "Scorpion" diesel for the Super Duty pickups is also manufactured.
If so, the fact that it is being built for the luxury SUV means that it could potentially be revived for the pickup. The fact that it was at one time destined for the U.S. market may also mean that it has been designed with U.S. emissions standards in mind and it could eventually appear in American Range Rovers. Given the success of diesels in German SUVs, it certainly seems plausible.
Update: A Ford official has confirmed that the new Land Rover diesel V8 is being supplied from Ford's Chihuahua engine plant. However, we were reminded that Ford never officially confirmed details of the planned diesel for the F150 so it cannot be officially confirmed that this is in fact the same engine. Given all the other information it does seem to be a reasonable inference.
[Source: World Car Fans]
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