Range Rover Hybrid: 6.7sec 0-100km/h, 6.4L/100km

Land Rover has announced it will unveil both a Range Rover Hybrid and Range Rover Sport Hybrid at the Frankfurt motor show next month.

Combining a 35kW electric motor with the 215kW/600Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel currently available in both models, the Range Rover Sport Hybrid and Range Rover Hybrid both develop a combined 250kW of power at 4000rpm and 700Nm of torque between 1500-3000rpm.

Driving all four wheels through the same eight-speed ZF automatic transmission used in the regular diesel-only models, the Range Rover Sport Hybrid clocks 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds, while the Range Rover Hybrid is only two-tenths behind to the same speed. The former runs to 225km/h, the latter to 218km/h.

Both, however, claim consumption of 6.4L/100km combined, with corresponding Co2 emissions of 169g/km.

Neither hybrid model is in packaging terms affected by the addition of lithium-ion batteries and an electric motor, the 2372kg Range Rover Sport Hybrid and 2394kg Range Rover Hybrid both retaining the cargo capacity of regular models. The Sport even maintains its seven-seat capability. The liquid-cooled battery pack is mounted beneath the floor in “a protective boron-steel cradle” engineered to help both Range Rovers retain their off-road ability; Land Rover’s Terrain Response 2 all-wheel-drive system is standard.

Land Rover claims the hybrid system weighs only 120kg, although compared with the Range Rover Vogue SDV8 that shares the Hybrid model’s turbo-diesel engine, the total weight gain is 308kg. Yet claimed consumption still drops 1.1L/100km.

Both diesel-electric hybrids can run near-silently and emissions-free in a selectable EV Mode for 1.6km, at speeds up to 48km/h. As with most hybrid designs, regenerative braking helps charge the batteries.

Although the Range Rover Hybrid and Range Rover Sport Hybrid will make their official debut at the Frankfurt motor show on September 10, the SUVs will arrive locally in the second quarter of 2014 for an expected $5-10K premium over the $113,600 Range Rover Sport SDV6 and $168,900 Range Rover TDV6 . Although the ‘Vogue’ Hybrid is available in a single specification level, Land Rover Australia has also confirmed it will take the Range Rover Hybrid in the two specification levels that will be available globally.

Land Rover has also announced that three Range Rover Hybrids will tomorrow depart on a 16,000km trek from the model’s birth place in Solihull to the home of parent company, Tata, in Mumbai, India. Dubbed ‘Silk Trail 2013′ after the 4000 mile Silk Road connecting Asia with the Mediterranean, the route will encompass “some of the world’s most challenging roads”, claims Land Rover. The trip will pass be split into 10 separate legs and pass through 12 countries including France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China, before arriving in Mumbai, India, on October 15.