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Land Rover is to put its radical LRX concept into production - but it will go on sale wearing a Range Rover badge, the company announced this morning.

"Our research of the LRX proved that if we can deliver the intent of the concept it has got all the hallmarks of a Range Rover," Land Rover boss Phil Popham told Autocar.

Popham also revealed that he is confident that the final production car, which the company will start taking orders for next year, will "get close to the concept’s...Read the full article

Oh dear. So, the perfectly proportioned, very stylish and desirable concept car will get an extra set of doors and a taller roof.  I guess it had to happen for commercial reasons, but what's the betting that the LRX just ends up looking like a shrunken Range Rover Sport, and thus loses alot of that wow factor that made me want one when I saw it?

What a let down - I rather fancied the original concept but now that it's going to get the extra doors and increased height it will just be a "Range Rover-ised" Freelander - and will no doubt cost even more. Very disappointing. I suppose it was hoping too much to get something a bit radical and interesting.

Don't get too carried away. Our sources say that the production car will look very similar to the concept - even with an extra set of doors. And there's every chance that a three door version will emerge as well - even if it's not at launch. We also hear that they're doing a lot of work to try and carry over lots of elements of the concept's interior. Let's hope that those seats make the cut for a start.

The proposed production vehicle i've seen at gaydon design studio is of a 3 door on one side and a 5 door on the other. Obvioulsly this was a clay model and the actual car will not have 3 doors on one side and 5 on the other, but it does say they will both share a low roofline as the LRX does. There is a lot of component sharing between Freelander 2 but this only what any other large carmaker (audi/VW/Porshe) all do nowadays. 4 cylinder turbo petrol engines will debut on this model also and it will keep the LED lighting front and back as per LRX  (i doubt the seats or iPhone will see poduction!!)

I am pleased they are bringing it out....but as above, a lot of the beauty was in the concept, but lets first see before making judgements; but here's a potential solution:

1) bring out the mini Range Rover as planned with the higher roof line and extra set of doors.

2) then bring out the Concept (as we have seen) as the "sport version" of the LXR....that way you get both markets.

3) turn the "Freelander" brand into the commercial variant of the five door

4) bring out a new discovery but keep the old version as the commercial unit that also replaces the Defender (I know the defender is much loved...but its getting old)

Just thoughts, but well done JLR.....keep it up and above all, please make sure that the unit is good....and well made; if I were you JLR I would also show concepts for the new discovery when the LXR is luanched....it shows progress, direction and keeps things bubblling nicely along.

"Obvioulsly this was a clay model and the actual car will not have 3 doors on one side and 5 on the other"

 Lol... 2 doors one side, 1 on the other. Got carried away!

Myk:

Oh dear. So, the perfectly proportioned, very stylish and desirable concept car will get an extra set of doors and a taller roof.  I guess it had to happen for commercial reasons, but what's the betting that the LRX just ends up looking like a shrunken Range Rover Sport, and thus loses alot of that wow factor that made me want one when I saw it?

Exactly my thoughts. Remember the concept car that turned into the RR Sport? It started of 3 doors with a low roofline too.

This was meant to be Land Rover's "Mini"  - a compact stylish small coupe-4x4 that sold off its incredible good looks. 5 doors and a high roof line scream practicality, family and people carrier, not 'sexy', 'seductive' or 'buy me.' Look what happened when BMW tried to make the Mini more practical - the Clubman is one of the ugliest cars on sale, that isn't selling at all as it isn't desirable. The LRX shouldn't just be a slightly modified Freelander with a Range Rover badge on it for gods sake, just because that's slightly cheaper to make.

Please LR, do not utterly c*ck such a gorgeous and easily manufacturable concept up by  making this a slightly smaller RR Sport. I know it will happen and have always suspected it might but its such a shame... such a shame. Marketing T*ssers messing with designers talents. Fair enough if it couldn't be built, but this one could, easily, and that really annoys me.

"Our research has shown us..." just takes me back to the Simpsons episode where Homer designs a car and bankrupts the company. Still I suppose these talentless tiny-gonad endowed marketing idiots have to justify their pay packets somehow by ruining designers and customer dreams.

"We thought about building a Ferrari, but marketing has said if we make it higher so more people can get in, maybe put a smaller engine in it, give it 5 doors, a higher roofline and make it more practical more people would buy it." Yes and you end up with a turd of a car that doesn't sell.

Jaguar thought about making the last XJ modern and advanced in its styling to match the advanced aluminium construction, but customer focus groups and backward facing management said they liked the looks of the old XJ, so they made it look exactly the same  - look what happened.

We've already seen that pretty much every standard 5 door 4x4 isn't selling. LR need different. Have the balls to put the gorgeous concept on sale !!! Screw this up and Jaguar deserves to dump LR into the nearest pit and get on with its recovery on its own.

 

Even if the production version come close to that, it'll still be one of the best looking SUVs out there by far. It makes a lot of Bussiness sense as well since it will juice more out of the Freelander platform thats used just for a single model now and also give additional volumes to the factory.

I also think there is a market for the three door versions of both the LRX and the Sport.

Orangewheels:

easily manufacturable concept

The LRX concept is far from easy to manufacture I can tell you for a fact

 

 

Lufbra Aaron:

The LRX concept is far from easy to manufacture I can tell you for a fact

Rubbish. There is nothing in the exterior shape that is inherently difficult to produce. No complicated pressing or undercuts that make the body particulary tricky to mass manufacture. All the glass already has only one plane of curvature. It needs a shutline for the front bumper, door handles, integrated B plllars, some sensible alloys and larger mirrors to make production thats about it. Headlights are already correctly placed and bumpers are at about the right 500mm and protrude the corrrect 50mm. Clamshell bonnet is easy enough, front wheelarches are wide but not impossible to press / make from plastic. Even the panoramic roof isn't to difficult nowadays provided the car can be properly braced. 

It just gets trickier if you try and force the design on top of the Freelander platform, with its high suspension towers and long travel shocks, and over complicates/ruins it if you give it 5 doors. It was meant to be a cross-coupe for gods sake.

I wouldnt expect the concept's interior to make production - they never do, but the exterior isn't tricky at all. What do you think is difficult?

It should be 3 doors, have air suspension and a soft dash. End of.