Range Rover Sport 2013 News

European manufacturers Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover and Peugeot have all issued recent recall notices.

Tesla has issued a voluntary recall for its electric Model S sedan and Model X SUV after discovering a potential manufacturing issue that could stop the electric park brake from functioning properly.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has this week issued safety recalls for various vehicles from Land Rover, Nissan and Volvo.

The New York motor show in April will see the announcement of which vehicle has won the 2014 World COTY, and there looks to be a tough -- and very varied -- field of finalists.Last year's winner was the Volkswagen Golf, which also took awards in pretty well every country on the globe. But this year it could be anything from the little electric BMW i3 to the offroading Jeep Cherokee and even the Citroen C4 peoplemover, judging by the shortlist.A panel of 69 motoring experts from around the world -- including Carsguide's Paul Gover and National Motoring Editor Joshua Dowling -- will choose the winner from: Audi A3, BMW 4 Series, BMW i3, Cadillac CTS, Citroen C4 Picasso, Ford Fusion/Mondeo, Infiniti Q50, Jeep Cherokee, Lexus IS, Mazda3, Peugeot 308 and Skoda Octavia.The 10 finalists for the 2014 World Luxury Car are the Bentley Flying Spur, BMW X5, Cadillac ELR, Cadillac Escalade, Maserati Ghibli, Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Porsche Macan, Range Rover Sport and Rolls-Royce Wraith.Due to a tie, there are 11 finalists for the 2014 World Performance Car: Alfa Romeo 4C, Audi RS 6 Avant, BMW M6 Gran Coupe, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Ferrari 458 Speciale, Ford Fiesta ST, Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster, Mercedes-Benz A/CLA45 AMG, Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche 911 Turbo and Volkswagen Golf GTI.A separate panel of five 'green' experts will choose the 2014 World Green Car from Audi A3 Sportback e-tron (+ Audi e-gas), BMW i3, Honda Accord Hybrid, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Volkswagen XL1.Similarly, a panel of five design experts will decide on the 2014 World Car Design of the Year, from among: BMW i3, Cadillac CTS, Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda3, Lexus IS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Volkswagen XL1.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

This is far from the usual daily trek for most Range Rovers -- which is generally a round of school runs, shopping and maybe a polo picnic. The Empty Quarter in Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest sand desert and one that even the locals are wary about venturing into.So Range Rover decided to try a world first and get across the vast expanse of sand dunes in a day with the new Sport. And it seems well-equipped for the job, building on parent company Land Rover's offroad expertise with a true dual range four-wheel drive system -- a single range AWD is also available, but was not what you'd choose for the sand challenge.The Sport has a choice of four engines: a 190kW 3.0-litre TDV6 diesel, a 215kW SDV6 diesel, a new 250kW 3.0-litre V6 and 375kW 5.0-litre V8 -- with a 250Kw 4.4-litre diesel version also due to arrive in Australia early next year -- all mated to an 8-speed ZF auto transmission.Watch the Range Rover Sport takle the sand dunes of the Empty Quarter on our desktop site.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Range Rover is launching its first-ever hybrid models in the form of the new Range Rover Hybrid and Range Rover Sport Hybrid, which make their world debut next month at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show and go on sale overseas early next year. Both vehicles feature state-of-the-art diesel-electric hybrid powertrains.The powertrain is common to both: a 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 paired in parallel with an electric motor integrated with the ZF eight-speed automatic already fitted across the line. Peak output of the system is 250kW of power at 4000rpm and 700Nm of torque, with the latter generated from as low as 1500 rpm and up to 3000rpm.Note, the electric motor by itself generates 35 kilowatts and 170Nm of torque. This allows the vehicle to travel at speeds of up 48kmh on electric power alone, but only over a distance of about 1.6km. This mode, which is selectable by the driver, is purely for stop and start driving around town. The motor also acts as a generator under braking.The total weight of the hybrid system, including the floor-mounted lithium-ion battery and inverter, is only 120kg, helping the vehicles maintain their strong performance and off-road capability. The Range Rover Hybrid weighs in at 2394kg while the Range Rover Sport Hybrid checks in at 2372kg.They’re not exactly light but that makes the performance of their new hybrid system all the more impressive. Land Rover claims a 0-100kmh time of 6.9 seconds for the Range Rover Hybrid and 6.7 seconds for the Range Rover Sport Hybrid. Top speed is 218kmh and 225kmh, respectively. Combined fuel economy for both models, based on the European combined cycle, is 6.4L/100km, with CO2 emissions of 169g/km.Importantly, both hybrids retain Land Rover’s peerless four-wheel drive system and work seamlessly with the computer-controlled Terrain Response 2 off-road system, and both offer uncompromised wading and ground clearance despite their floor-mounted batteries.To demonstrate this capability, three Range Rover Hybrids will embark today on an epic trip, from the home of Range Rover production in Solihull, UK to the home of Land Rover’s parent company Tata, in Mumbai, India. The journey, which Land Rover has dubbed the “Silk Trail 2013,” will see the vehicles travel some 16,000km across 12 different countries. They are expected to arrive in Mumbai on October 15.www.motorauthority.com 

Range Rovers Sport confuses many potential buyers in the 4WD and SUV fields. Almost all ‘sport’ models from other marques are simply tarted up variants of standard models, whereas the Rangie Sport is a model in its own right. It’s smaller than the regular Range Rover and until now has been based more on the Land Rover Discovery than the full-sized Range Rover.Which for a while led to the ridiculous situation that the current Sport is heavier than its big brother, the recently introduced full-size Range Rover. That’s because the big Rangie had been run through a serious weight reduction program.Details have just been announced that the next Range Rover Sport, which won’t be seen in Australia till late 2013, has gone on the same slimming-down process. Believe it or not, some half a tonne has been pulled out of the new Sport. Which won’t exactly make it a slim young thing - it’s now more heavyweight boxer than sumo wrestler.DESIGNUsing the ‘matched-luggage’ approached that’s common in upmarket marques the new Range Rover Sports sits neatly in appearance between the big Range Rover and the small Evoque. While it was developed alongside the Range Rover the all-new Sport has 75 per cent of its components that are unique to it.The new Sport is just 62 mm longer than its predecessor, but has a significantly longer wheelbase, up by 178 mm, to provide extra room and improved access for passengers in the rear. Once they are back there the passengers will appreciate the additional 55 mm of width.Range Rover Sport has a steeper windscreen angle and lower sloping roofline to improve aerodynamics and, with a Cd of 0.34, it does well for a relatively bulky 4WD.New Sport’s interior has design cues that are instantly recognisable as being Range Rover, with neat design and top quality materials. It has a higher centre console, configurable mood lighting and what Range Rover describes as a sporting seating position similar to the Evoque.TECHNOLOGYA new, optional colour Head-Up Display presents key vehicle and navigation data. Driver assistance systems include Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition and Automatic High Beam Assist.ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONAll-new Range Rover Sport will have a choice of four engines: two supercharged petrol units (5.0-litre 375 kW V8 and the new 3.0-litre 250 kW V6) and two diesel engines (3.0-litre 190 kW TDV6 and 215 kW SDV6).  Early in 2014 a high performance 4.4-litre 250 kW SDV8 diesel version. A high-efficiency diesel Hybrid model will also arrive in 2014.All petrol and diesel engines in the new Range Rover Sport are mated to a heavy-duty ZF 8HP70 eight-speed automatic transmission. Interestingly, the weight reduction measures on the new Range Rover Sport mean a smaller, lighter power plant, such as a four-cylinder engine, is a possibility.FULL-TIME 4WDThough most will be only ever be driven on-road, Range Rover tells us it hasn’t let the Sport’s all-terrain ability slip. Wheel-travel is class-leading and provides exceptional wheel articulation of 546 mm. Maximum ground clearance is increased to 285 mm (up by 58 mm) and the revised air suspension system automatically varies between two ride heights. The new generation Terrain Response 2 system automatically selects the most suitable program for the conditions.A choice of two full-time 4WD systems will be offered. One provides a two-speed transfer case with a low-range option, for the most demanding off-road conditions with a front-rear 50/50 percent default torque split, and 100 percent locking capability. The other system has a single-speed transfer case with a Torsen differential, which automatically distributes torque to the axle with most grip.

With a roofline snitched from the city-first Evoque, the new Sport is the second model developed using the all-aluminium package under the brilliant new Range Rover.