Land Rover prepping new Range Rover Sport

Land Rover is busily working on creating lighter versions of the its offerings in an attempt to head looming fuel economy regulations off at the pass. That includes the Range Rover Sport. Details are skimpy as to exactly what kind of weight savings we can expect from the next-generation vehicle when it debuts, but it's clear that Land Rover is already hard at work on a few prototypes. Our spy photographers managed to catch a mule out and about on public streets wearing sparse camouflage and plenty of sheetmetal from the current SUV.

Next year will see the Range Rover Sport equipped with a new eight-speed automatic transmission manufactured by the gearbox gurus at ZF paired to a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel V6 engine in the UK. The transmission isn't expected to be mated with the company's gasoline V8 offerings, however. Stay tuned for more information on the next-generation Range Rover Sport as it becomes available.