Land Rover at British International Motor Show 2008

Land Rover's past, present and future are all admirably showcased at this year's British International Motor Show. The stylish, black Defender SVX special edition has been created to celebrate the company's 60th anniversary, while the latest model line-up is headed by new and upgraded versions of the Range Rover. The stunning white LRX concept car, meanwhile, shows a clear design intent for the future – as well as introducing the possibility of ground-breaking diesel hybrid power.

Land Rover has recently started real-world testing of some diesel hybrid engineering prototypes and the technology behind the story is explored as part of the brand-new Our Planet zone within the Land Rover stand. Building on the company's current communications campaign, the zone shows the diverse actions that Land Rover is taking to improve environmental performance and move towards a sustainable future.

The Range Rover for 2009
The Range Rover line-up for 2009 is headed by the most luxurious full production Range Rover yet. Taking the name Autobiography, it wears a badge previously reserved for bespoke versions of the luxury 4x4.

This new flagship has more leather than any Range Rover before. What’s more, this is luxurious semi-aniline leather from the very best hides, which, after minimum processing, display unique, individual surface grains that increase in character with age.

The Range Rover Autobiography's facia, door casings, door bins, seats and centre console are all finished in this leather, complementing the traditional interior wood. The steering wheel is leather-wrapped, the leather-topped facia has a softer, more luxurious feel, and even the floor mats are leather edge-bound.

The 2009 Range Rover Autobiography also offers new 20-inch diamond-turned twin-seven-spoke alloy wheels, new paint colours and additional acoustic cabin glass, which further reduces road and wind noise, and increases security.

Across the rest of the Range Rover line-up for 2009 there are new seat styles and other leather options, more new wheel styles and new exterior colours.

LRX concept car
Land Rover's acclaimed LRX concept car makes its official UK motor show debut in London, signalling the brand's shift into new areas of the market, while remaining true to its core values. The three-door LRX, with its more compact size, lighter weight and sustainability-focused technologies, clearly addresses the needs of a changing world. Conceived as a diesel hybrid, it offers potential fuel economy of 60 mpg (4.7 l/100 km) and CO2 emissions down to 120 g/km (on the European combined cycle).

"The LRX concept delivers the powerful message that we are as serious about sustainability as we are confident about the continuing relevance and desirability of our vehicles," says Phil Popham, Land Rover’s managing director. "LRX is in every respect a Land Rover, but it’s a very different Land Rover."

Our Planet zone
Brand-new for the London show – and reinforcing the forward-thinking messages of the LRX concept – is the Our Planet zone, which forms a substantial part of the Land Rover stand. It shows the diverse actions that Land Rover is taking in pursuit of improving environmental performance to move towards a sustainable future, and builds on the wide-ranging Our Planet communication campaign launched earlier this year.

The zone explains Land Rover's activities in four key areas:

Environmental technologies, such as diesel hybrids, to increase the efficiency of Land Rover vehicles
Conservation and humanitarian projects that the company supports around the world
Sustainable manufacturing
Land Rover’s massive CO2 offset scheme – one of the largest in the world. This offsets the CO2 emissions for the first 45,000 miles of all Land Rovers sold in the UK, as well as those produced through global manufacturing

"In this, our 60th anniversary year, the Our Planet campaign is a way of celebrating our proud global heritage, raising awareness of actions we can all take today and embracing the environmental challenges of the future," says Phil Popham. "We've already made great strides towards a more sustainable future, with improvements in fuel economy and reductions in emissions. Land Rover cares passionately about the world we live in and, as a business, we are investing time, money and resource to keep improving our environmental performance."

The zone covers Land Rover's new e-TERRAIN TECHNOLOGIES programme – a group of scalable and modular technologies which will help to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy. This programme is part of a joint research project between Land Rover and the Energy Saving Trust.

At the show, the focus will be on Land Rover's advanced Diesel ERAD Hybrid technology, which is now at engineering prototype stage. ERAD stands for Electric Rear Axle Drive, an innovative Land Rover system that can help lower overall vehicle emissions while actually enhancing Land Rover’s renowned all-terrain performance.

RT Hon Ruth Kelly MP, secretary for state for transport said: "Investing in low-carbon technology to reduce carbon emissions is vital to deliver a truly sustainable transport system, which is why the Government helped fund Land Rover's project.

"Land Rover's diesel hybrid shows how we can achieve lower vehicle CO2 emissions to help meet our targets to safeguard the environment. Land Rover has made a considerable achievement in developing this project, which has been shown to reduce emissions by over 20%, and I hope to see even more projects like this in the future.

"The Government will continue to support the development of similar projects through the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform, which has been allocated more than £90 million of funding over the next five years."

Ultimate Experience
The Ultimate Experience, Land Rover's off-road adventure zone will be running throughout the duration of the show. Show visitors will be able to experience the all-round capabilities of Land Rover's product line-up over a gravity-defying 10 metre mountain climb, treacherous side slopes and hair raising descents. Entry is free, although donations will be encouraged for the British Red Cross.