Range Rover Leads JLR’s Roll-Back of Dependence on Diesel

Philip Oakley

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1st May 2019

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced a mild hybrid powertrain for its flagship Range Rover indicating a roll back of the company’s dependence on diesel.

With the slump in diesel sales post the Volkswagen ‘Dieselgate’ scandal, the carmaker was among the worst hit because some 90% of its offered product had been oil burners. Now its Range Rover will get a a new straight-six 3.0-liter gasoline engine married to a 48-volt mild hybrid powertrain. Its 398bhp Ingenium engine can generate up to 550Nm of torque and accelerate car from 0-60mph in 5.9 seconds, with an overall top speed of 140mph.

Now mentions of diesel are conspicuously absent in factory statement for the new full-size SUV, with JLR choosing to instead focus on the inclusion of a new mild hybrid powertrain. This is the latest move in carmaker’s aim of offering electrified versions of every model in its range by 2020. Its mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) powertrain is made up of an electric supercharger and twin-scroll turbocharger, which JLR says virtually eliminates turbo lag, with the electric supercharger providing immediate response before the turbo spools up. The twin-scroll turbo and the inclusion of continuous variable valve lift means that power output is boosted through improved aspiration.

Nick Rogers, executive director of product engineering at JLR, said: “Advanced technologies, such as continuous variable valve lift, work alongside a mild-hybrid system that harvests energy as you drive, to improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions. The otherwise wasted energy is used to power the electric supercharger, which enhances vehicle capability by enhancing the torque curve at low engine speeds for greater responses.”