Automotive Stuff: January 2019
Of course, I'm talking about the 70th anniversary of the Land Rover! First launched at the Amsterdam motor show back in April 1948, the Series I Land Rover was created for no other reason than to provide a stop-gap model to aide sales in the post-war years. This vehicle was first intended to be just for agricultural purposes, and had a box section steel chassis, and aluminium body work - there was an abundance of aluminium surplus from aircraft manufacturing after the war. We have a number of books due to be released over the course of the year to help mark this landmark occasion, but the stand out book has got to be Land Rover Design - 70 years of success. Written by Nick Hull, author of Ford Design in the UK - 70 years of success - this book details the personalities involved in the various projects from the late 1940s up to today: the designers, modellers and studio engineers.
Mercedes-Benz EQ Concept: Mercedes hopes to electrify the Frankfurt Motor Show nwith a battery-electric concept vehicle that offers a hint of what it has coming to showrooms early in the new decade. The German automaker isnt saying much about whats in store, but word has it what well be seeing is a battery-powered complement to the brands current flagship, the S-Class sedan. Expect to see it dubbed the Mercedes EQS. The concepts twin motors will provide an electric all-wheel-drive system, making just over 400 hp, enough to hit 60 in less than 5 seconds. Mini Cooper SE EV: The British marque was one of the first to test an all-electric concept but it is only now bringing the technology into production. The zero-emissions model will use a single motor on the front axle, rated at 181 horsepower, enough to hit 60 in just over 7 seconds. It will feature a relatively modest, 32.6 kWh battery pack 聳 even smaller than the one in the Honda E 聳 but still should get 167 miles per charge, according to Mini.
There were also no airbags. This lack of creature comforts and safety features doesn't even take into consideration the profuse amount of noise emanating from the road, wind and engine. The Land Rover Defender 90 does the job it was intended to do well. But beyond tackling off-road trails, however, it is ill-suited for any significant journey involving pavement. Other off-road specialists like the Jeep Wrangler will probably suit your trail needs just as well as the Defender at a lower price, although none boast the Land Rover's British pedigree. In 1993, Land Rover sold 500 units of the four-door Defender 110 in the United States. Featuring a stretched version of the later two-door model's frame, it featured a wheelbase that surpassed that time's Range Rover. The 110 came only in a fixed hardtop body style with center-facing rear seats that allowed nine people to sit in all the comfort of a troop transporter. Power came from the 3.9-liter V8 that made 180 hp and 227 lb-ft of torque. The same praise and criticism levied at the Defender 90 can be directed at the 110 as well, but its extreme rarity should at least make it more of a collector's item some day.
Sister company Land Rover wants to borrow the soon-to-debut EV鈥檚 basic architecture to spearhead its own foray into the segment, according to executives. Using Jaguar鈥檚 skateboard-style I-Pace platform is 鈥渋nevitable,鈥?Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern told Australian magazine Drive on the sidelines of the Los Angeles Auto Show. The two vehicles will serve different purposes, so Land Rover鈥檚 version of the car won鈥檛 be merely a badge-engineered I-Pace. Expect it to be more rugged-looking and not as road-focused as its low-slung cousin. It will receive a completely different design but it鈥檚 too early to even speculate what it will look like. Even Land Rover doesn鈥檛 know what to expect. 鈥淭here are different ways to approach it. The big question the electric vehicle poses is, do you want to take advantage of the benefits in the change of the layout and package you are afforded without needing to have an engine under a bonnet up the front?
