Land Rover LRX to make its Asia debut at Beijing auto show

Shanghai, April 8 (Gasgoo.com) After being unloaded by Ford onto India's Tata Motors Ltd in a much concerned deal, Land Rover is now set to debut its LRX model in Asia at the 2008 Beijing auto show this month.

The model is reportedly powered by a 2.2-liter diesel or a 3.2L six cylinder fuel engine, but Land Rover hasn't confirmed these details yet.

The new baby LRX made its debut at the Detroit auto show earlier this year. It is smaller than the LR2 -- the smallest Land Rover available --and would be built on a new platform, the company says.

"We are determined to make sustainability a key element in our future product design and the way we do business, while still creating vehicles that have a strong emotional appeal as well as fulfill people's practical needs," said Phil Popham, Land Rover's managing director.

Popham said the LRX was engineered to make it one of the cleanest vehicles in its class — its lower weight and reduced aerodynamic drag aid fuel efficiency and reduce C02 emissions. The interior is equipped with vegetable-tanned leather that is chromium-free, extensive use of lightweight and recyclable aluminum, and carpeting made of felt from sustainable sources. The suede door inserts and headliner are derived from a 100 percent recycled material made from used plastic bottles.

Concept vehicles are rare at Land Rover. In the words of design director Gerry McGovern, "Concept cars tend to be things we're serious about." With the sale of the company imminent, it will be Land Rover's new owners who decide whether the LRX turns out to seriously portend a new type of Land Rover.