Range Rover

Thursday 22 October 2009
In 2002, the third generation model was introduced which saw the model move further up-market. Initially planned and developed under BMW ownership under the project name L30, the new generation was planned as an AWD flagship accompaniment to the E65 7 Series saloon, sharing many components and systems (electronics, core power units etc), and initially packaged to accommodate BMW's coming V8D and V12 power units as future range-topping models, to complement their own X5 model, a smaller, more sporting SUV. The manual transmission was dropped entirely, leaving only the automatic transmission. In a concerted effort to improve the Range Rover's on road competence, ride and handling, and at the same time to achieve more predictable crash performance, it was decided to adopt a monocoque (unibody) construction and at the same time to move to 4-wheel independent air suspension. Air suspension allowed variable ride height to suit on and off-road conditions, and the crosslinking of the suspension elements achieved similar axle articulation to that available with the previous live axled generations. This was important to retain the off road excellence and the desired on-road improvements that were core to the marketing position of the new product.By the time of the launch, Land Rover had been sold to Ford in 2000, as part of the splitting up of the Rover Group. As a result, these further engine derivatives were not included in the sale. The initial years of Range Rover production, now known internally as L322, came with the BMW M62 V8 petrol with 282 bhp (210 kW) and 6-cylinder diesel engines, although only the former was offered in North America.

Technical data:
- engine: V8
- capacity: 4200 cc
- horsepower: 390 HP
- gearbox: 6+1
- top speed: 225 km/h