Range Rover Facelift with new 510HP Supercharged V8

These are the first official photographs of the redesigned Range Rover that will be making its premiere along with its facelifted Range Rover Sport sibling and the Discovery / LR3 at the New York International Auto Show. Land Rover’s premium SUV has received mild styling tweaks in and out along with a series of mechanical upgrades that include the addition of a new 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine.

The design enhancements to the 2010 Range Rover include subtle exterior revisions with changes to the headlights, grille and bumper as well as the new ‘three-stripe’ LED indicators and redesigned three-section fender vents.

The SUV’s interior benefits from new leather trim for the headlining, pillar and door casings while the facia buttons now feature a satin chrome-plated finish. Moreover, the 2010 model features a new dual view touch screen infotainment system plus what Land Rover claims to be the world’s largest configurable 12-in. Thin Film Transistor (TFT) screen which is found in the instrument cluster.

The most important news under the hood concerns the replacement of the 4.2-liter Supercharged V8 with a new 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine which is the same one used in the Jaguar XFR. It develops an output of 510HP and a peak torque of 625Nm.

Land Rover supports that despite the significant hike in both power (29 percent) and torque (+12 percent), the new supercharged V8 improves fuel consumption by 7.3 percent to 19mpg UK (14.8 lt/100km or 15.6mpg US) on the EU cycle and CO2 emissions by 7.4 percent to 348g/km, compared with its 4.2-litre Supercharged predecessor.

Other improvements for the 2010 Range Rover include the more powerful braking system, the updated Terrain Response and Stability Control systems and the new surround camera system which helps make parking easier.

Land Rover gets Government Grant to Build Range Rover LRX

The UK Government has offered a grant of up to £27 million ($37.4 million) to help the Jaguar-Land Rover Group develop the production version of the LRX small SUV first shown in Detroit last year. It should be noted that the grant is from a separate scheme to the £2.3bn support package that the UK government is currently negotiating with automakers. Land Rover, which is now owned by India’s Tata Motors, said that the Government’s grant is an important contribution towards the overall £400 million cost of the LRX project.

“We welcome the Government’s support for this project, which would form a key part of our future product plans and which we very much want to put into production,” said Phil Popham, Managing Director of Land Rover. The company is due to make a final decision on the go-ahead of the LRX project at its plant in Halewood, on Merseyside, later this year.

The British automaker also revealed that while the LRX concept was shown as a Land Rover, the production version will go on sale wearing a Range Rover badge. The new small SUV is expected to share many components with the Freelander including the SUV’s four-wheel drive system.

Land Rover Offers Aussies Stormer Kit for Range Rover Sport

Drawing inspiration from the 2004 Range Stormer Concept Car, Land Rover Australia has introduced a new optional styling kit for the MY09 Range Rover Sport. The limited edition, factory fitted Stormer kit which is available in a choice of three colors (black, white and grey), consists of Stormer-style front and rear bumpers, an extended rear spoiler, body colored side cladding, rectangular-shaped chromed, exhaust finishers, a honeycomb radiator grille, plus a front Park Distance Control.

Land Rover said that only a limited number of Stormer Kits will go on sale in Australia, at a factory fitted cost of RRP AU$9,990. Prices for the Range Rover Sport start from AU$90,900 for the V6 turbo diesel model.

Range Rover Sport 09MY RRP:

TDV6

$90,900

TDV8

$118,900

V8

$118,900

Supercharged

$144,900

Stormer Kit (Option)

$9,990

Range Rover Sport Black and White Edition

Land Rover has launched a special edition version of the Range Rover Sport for the German market. As its name clearly suggests, ‘das’ Range Rover Sport Black and White is available exclusively in Santorini Black or Alaska White with matching interior trim, and just 200 units are being produced for sale. Customers can choose between two diesel engines, a 190HP V6 or a 272HP V8 with prices set at €74,310 and €83,910 respectively.

Over 11 minutes of BMW 1 Series M Coupe and E30 M3 hotness

The beauty of the BMW 1 Series M Coupe isn’t that the bean-counters let their best performance engineers have at the smallest car in the range. The real beauty is that the car goes back to the very roots of the M division, before the M3 went all V8 on us and took a hefty weight penalty in the process.

To illustrate the point, BMW took the new coupe out to the track, and brought along its spiritual predecessor, the original E30 M3. Fortunately for us, they filmed the encounter – all 11 and a half minutes of it. And while half of it is stock promotional footage, there’s a good few minutes of on-track action spliced in for good measure. Check it out in the video after the jump.