Land Rover Is Turning Its Popular Range Rover Sport Into a Plug-In Hybrid
Jaguar Land Rover is bringing emissions-free driving--at least a little bit of the time--to off roading. The British automaker, owned by India’s Tata Motors, said Wednesday it will produce a plug-in hybrid version of the Range Rover Sport. The new offering follows the company’s announcement last month that all new Jaguar Land Rover cars will be available in electric or hybrid versions from 2020.
The 2019 Range Rover Sport P400e plug-in hybrid will start at ?61,315 ($81,285) and be available in summer 2018.
Offering a plug-in version of the Range Rover Sport--one of the company’s more popular vehicles with 732,000 sold since 2004--is a sign of what’s to come. At least if automakers want to sell vehicles in cities like London or states such as California that have increasingly strict air quality regulations. JLR is also developing an all-electric performance SUV called the I-PACE that is expected to hit the market in 2018.
Plug-in hybrids are different from your standard hybrid electric car. Both types of vehicles combine a gas-powered engine with an electric motor and a battery. But a PHEV can be plugged in and recharged from an outlet. This lets the driver operate the vehicle just using electricity.
The Range Rover Sport P400e plug-in hybrid will have an electric-only range of 31 miles. Drivers can choose to operate the 4×4 in electric-only mode. Once the electric charge is up, the vehicle switches over to the internal combustion engine.
The 2-liter four-cylinder gas engine is combined with an electric motor to produce a total power output of 404 bhp (brake horse power). The four-wheel drive vehicle will travel from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.3 second and reach a maximum speed of 137 mph. Inside are all of the luxury touches you’d expect in the Range Rover Sport, including an upgraded infotainment system and other touches like a sunblind that drivers can lower or raise with a wave of their hand.
