Despite all its incredibly upward mobility, lots of us tend to think of Land Rover in simplistic terms, whether you visualize one helping a farmer in Wales bring in a load of hay or another, similarly basic Landie hauling a team of Tommies through Ulster at the height of the Troubles. Part of its basic utility was always inline power, be it gasoline or diesel.
Range Rover, one of the industry’s most august names when it comes to luxury off-roading, is continuing that tradition. Jaguar Land Rover has just extended its straight-six Ingenium engine to the Range Rover Sport model. The new six is part of Land Rover’s Ingenium engine family, displaces 3.0 liters, and comes from the proud firm’s Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton, England, which cost a billion pounds Sterling to build.
The Ingenium six comes in two power levels, and replaces a more conventional (by today’s standards, anyway) V-6 that previously powered the sporting variant of the Range Rover. Uniquely, it mates an electrically operated supercharger with a twin-scroll turbocharger and continuously variable valve lift for efficiency. And while speaking of efficiency, the powertrain package includes Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle (MHEV) technology, by which a small, integrated electric motor gathers energy lost during deceleration and redistributes it on an as-needed basis. Part of the Ingenium variable-architecture engine family, the inline-six burns petrol. Find out more by visiting the Land Rover website.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 