2013 Range Rover Gets Custom RS600 Wheels from Kahn [Wallpapers]

The new Range Rovers are starting to arrive all over the world and the real life impressions usually say they are larger but less impressive. Certainly not something to write home about.

Fortunately, UK tuners Kahn are already at work developing aftermarket parts for the SUV, and today they’ve kitted this particular example in their RS600 wheels which are specially designed for the Range Rover as a 9.5x22-inch or 10.5x23-inch.

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Range Rover region's favourite SUV driven in the UAE

The all-new Range Rover is designed to excel in all conditions. The UAE did not disappoint.

The invitation, when it was received, promised an opportunity for wading, ‘weather permitting’. Well, permit it certainly did, and the UAE launch drive for the fourth generation of Land Rover’s iconic Range Rover took place on one of the wettest and most forboding days we experienced at the end of last year. To their utmost credit, the Land Rover team didn’t bat an eyelid at six inches of standing water in the car park, and said not one word about postponing our drive.

Certainly, we were about to get an object lesson in the sorts of driving conditions that don’t trouble a Range Rover in the least, but bring the UAE to a grinding halt. I can tell you right up front that the Range Rover’s heater, demister and seat warmers all work extremely well, that the wipers are fast enough to clear a deluge, and that the four-wheel drive system tracks true despite the amount of water on the road. In fact, of all the cars we could drive in such inclement weather, none would be as reassuring as the ones we were in.

These cars are no strangers to the UAE. There has been a disguised pair in the area for some time, one black with silver camo, the other the reverse, and they have been spotted in convoy in several places. There were glamorous launch previews held in JBR and on the corniche in Abu Dhabi.

So much for all the fanfare, what’s it actually like to drive? Phil Moore loved it in Morocco, even though much of the intended route had been washed away in rain before the event. Were we about to experience the same deluge here in the UAE? It certainly seemed so. In the metal, the all-new Range Rover is much more visually coherent than early photographs had suggested. There’s something odd about the proportions in the publicity stills, but nothing at all out of place in the real world. Our fleet made a very handsome line-up.

The car has real presence, even in the gloom of an early morning deluge, with a slightly more raked back screen, subtly sloping roof and elements of Evoque about the lights. That said, it is still big, and you still climb up into the driver’s seat — that ‘command’ driving position is very much present and correct. Fire it up, and the first surprise strikes you. Though the engine is familiar, the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 producing 503bhp, the sensation is new. Gone is the old rumble, in its place is a turbine-smooth feel, and turbine-like thrust to go with it.

The new Range Rover really is a ground-up new design, the result of changing the material it is made from to aluminium rather than steel. This has huge advantages in every aspect of the car, and necessitated the building of a new factory at Solihull to produce what is acknowledged as the world’s largest all-aluminium monocoque bodyshell. The change of material affects every aspect of the car, not least because the bodyshell is a massive 39 per cent lighter than its steel forebear. At most, the new car is a full 420kg lighter than its predecessor, an almost unprecedented achievement in modern car construction.

That reduction in weight means better performance, reduced fuel consumption, lighter components in the drivetrain and greater agility. Land Rover’s claim that the new Range Rover is lighter, faster, stronger and more luxurious is entirely credible, and a real challenge to other carmakers in the same arena. That reduction in weight is apparent from the moment you set off. It is eerily quiet inside, and completely devoid of intrusion from the world outside, but composed, taut and responsive.

Gone is the old vagueness from the steering, in comes something that is pointy and precise. The use of an eight-speed transmission and supercharged engine means that there is always plenty of torque available, which translates into instantaneous response to the throttle. You want to pass someone, it’s just press and go. No Range Rover ever felt as fleet as this. Cornering, too, is faintly surreal. The new Range Rover rides on air suspension at all four corners, and there is some heavy duty computing going on to keep the ride tidy.

The electronics stiffen the suspension on the outside wheels through a turn, and the big Range Rover rides as flat as a sports car. Straighten up, and it stays level and smooth, soaking up imperfections without upsetting the demeanour of the car in any way. Land Rover must be commended for doing something unusual with this drive, apart from arranging spectacularly bad weather for the start. Our whole day was dedicated to driving. No games in car parks, no obstacle courses or ‘fun’ activities. Just roads, wadis and sand to explore, for as long as we wanted. Other carmakers take note!

So that is what we did. The first third of the day was a fast road blast, in the rain, which mercifully began to lift. It is hardly a surprise that the car was so comfortable and composed on the road, but at least it gave us an opportunity to explore the interior. Land Rover reckons it has reduced the button count by 50 per cent, and what is left all works in a reassuringly intuitive way. Fit and finish are superb, and the interior is completely squeak-free. Soon enough, we’re off the highways and onto the back roads headed for Wadi Fili to do some rock crawling.

We get a chance to explore the Terrain Response system, which can be left in fully automatic mode to make choices about the most appropriate settings for you, or select what you want manually. Here comes a second surprise, to discover that the ‘Lo’ range really is low, a proper rock-crawling gear for inching over obstacles and following the instructions of a spotter. With a bid of judicious pointing and waving from Fraser Martin and the crew, we all made it through unscathed to the stop for coffee.

easily are so slick and wet it is almost impossible to stand and walk around. Even on the biggest of the rocks and ridges, nothing grounded, and nothing complained. It really is as strong as they claim. The final section of the day is on sand, and because it has been rained on, there’s not even any need to air down the tyres. That we managed to climb some of those dunes and ridges is impressive enough, but to do so on normal road tyres is even more so.

Again, the lighter weight of the new Range Rover really showed in its ability to float over sand rather than plough through it, and even as the sand dried out and got softer, most of the time we made it. That some of the party (myself included!) did manage to get stuck is down to a deficit of driver ability rather than any fault of the vehicle, and we got everybody rolling again soon enough. Maybe Land Rover was fortunate with the weather on that day, because it allowed it to show of its new achievement in the most adverse conditions.

And it is an achievement — the new Range Rover is composed and cosseting on road, agile over rocks and supremely confident on sand. That it can take on the worst of what the UAE can throw at it and get to the end of the day without missing a beat is an extraordinary feat, and speaks volumes about the quality, integrity and ability of the car. The original Range Rover defined a whole new genre of cars, the luxury SUV. The all-new, fourth-gen Range Rover moves the game on again, and further than you might ever have believed possible.

Specs and ratings

Model: Range Rover
Engine: 5.0-litre V8 supercharged
Transmission: Eight-speed auto, AWD
Max power: 503bhp @ 6,500rpm
Max torque: 625Nm @ 2,500rpm
Top speed: 250kph
0-100kph: 5.4sec
Price: Dh459,000
Plus: Ride quality, interior, off-roadability
Minus: Pricey, but worth it.

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2014 Range Rover Sport Spy Shots

The all-new fourth-generation 2013 Land Rover Range Rover just made its debut a couple of months ago at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, and now we can look forward to the next new vehicles from the brand.

One of these is a new generation of the Range Rover Sport, which, unlike the current model, will be much more closely related with the regular Range Rover but feature its own distinct style.

Set to be introduced for the 2014 model year, the new Range Rover Sport will more closely resemble the aggressive lines of the smaller Range Rover Evoque and come with a sharply-angled roof and narrow, slit-like lights both front and rear.

The latest spy shots show more of the Range Rover Sport's front end, though abundant camouflage makes it hard to pick out the overall look; at the rear, the camouflage is even heavier. In earlier spy shots the prototype had been dressed to look like a Volvo, but underneath the camouflage were hints of an aggressive and much more appealing design than the somewhat blocky look of the current model.

The platform will be shared with the latest 2013 Range Rover; it is a lightweight, rivet-bonded aluminum design based on a modified version of the platform underpinning the Jaguar XJ. By combining this with some advanced composite materials, Land Rover engineers are likely to have reduced the vehicle's weight dramatically. In the Range Rover, there have been savings of more than 700 pounds on some variants.

The current model’s engine lineup should carry over, though with significant revisions to make them more environmentally friendly. One possibility is the adoption of an eight-speed automatic instead of the current six-speeder, an option that is already offered on certain models sold overseas.

The new HSE should get a 5.0-liter V-8, good for 375 horsepower and 375 pound-feet of torque, while the range-topping Supercharged variant will likely get a force-fed version of the same V-8 good for 510 Horsepower and 461 pound feet of torque. Other markets will get a turbodiesel V-6 option and potentially a new supercharged gasoline V-6 as well.

The interior will feature a much more premium look and feel, complete with carbon fiber themed packages or traditional polished wood for the trim. A large display screen in the center stack, digital instrument cluster and an available Harmon/Kardon sound system should also feature.

Stay tuned for updates as development progresses, and look for the 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport to hit showrooms before the end of 2013.

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New look for Range Rover Sport

Our image shows how the Range Rover Sport could look, with its short rear overhang and aggressive front-end styling

Forthcoming SUV will have a new style to distance it from the Range Rover. The new Range Rover Sport will have much greater visual differentiation from the standard Range Rover than before, design director Gerry McGovern has revealed.

The second-generation Range Rover Sport is due to be revealed in the middle of 2013 before going on sale at the end of the year.

McGovern said the new car “would be given more personality than before” and it would be “separated a bit more” from the Range Rover.

Insiders have revealed that the new Range Rover Sport line-up will include a seven-seat option for the first time, a model that should sell particularly well in one of the Range Rover Sport’s biggest markets, North America.

McGovern didn’t confirm it for production but said it would be a “challenge” to make a seven-seat Range Rover Sport. “It’s a sporty car with a sleek profile,” he said, “so creating it would be a challenge if it is successfully to carry extra seats.”

Under the skin, the new Range Rover Sport will be closely related to the new Range Rover. The two will share Jaguar Land Rover’s Premium Lightweight Architecture (PLA), a riveted and bonded aluminium monocoque that should help shave about 300kg from a base V6 diesel, taking it to about 2160kg.
An even lighter kerb weight would be achieved by fitting a four-cylinder diesel engine. Insiders have confirmed that this option is under evaluation for the new Range Rover Sport (but not the Range Rover).
Despite the close relationship under the skin, a greater visual differentiation between the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport will come from a more sharply raked roofline, shorter rear overhang, deeper body sides and more aggressive treatment for the front and rear detailing.

Launch engines are likely to include a 255bhp V6 diesel as the entry-level unit, and a 334bhp twin-turbo V8 as the most potent oil-burner. A 503bhp V8 petrol is likely for the Supercharged variant.

The economy champion will be a V6 diesel-electric hybrid, which should have a claimed combined 333bhp, a 0-62mph time of 7.4sec and CO2 emissions of just 169g/km.

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Thief steals Range Rover as driver stops for cash at Woodbridge ATM

                                               
A man told police someone stole his Range Rover – a large four-wheel drive SUV – when he pulled over to get cash from a St. Georges Avenue ATM.
The 34-year-old victim, who is from Edison, told police he left the vehicle about 9 p.m. on Wednesday while he went to use the machine inside TD Bank.
He left his white, 2008 Range Rover RRV running in the parking lot with the door unlocked, according to a police report.
While inside, someone drove off with the vehicle.
The vehicle has not been recovered.

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