Range Rover to present 2014 hybrid vehicles at Frankfurt

In a twist of events, Range Rover will be unveiling hybrid versions of two of their flagships — the Range Rover and the Sport models. The duo will be making its first appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the coming weeks.

The system used by Land Rover pairs a 47 hp electric motor with a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine to churn out a combined output of 335 hp and an impressive 700 Nm of torque. Of course, power will be distributed to all four wheels.

All of this does add a few extra kilos though. For instance, the lithium-ion battery, inverter and electric motor packs in an extra 120 kg. But the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission helps the Range Rover Hybrid reach 100 kph from a standstill in a mere 6.9 seconds. Subsequently, the Range Rover Sport Hybrid achieves the same feat in 6.7 seconds. Both the vehicles max out at speeds of 218 kph and 225 kph respectively.

We also hear that Land Rover is sending three Range Rovers on a transcontinental road trip along the “Silk Trail”, which starts from the factory in Solihull, England, and goes all the way till parent company, Tata’s headquarters in Mumbai, India. The trip kicked off last week and is expected to conclude by October 15 after crossing 16,000 km and dissecting 12 different countries.

Both models are expected to hit overseas markets early next year, but we’re still not too sure about them entering the GCC market anytime soon.