Updated Euro-spec 2011 Range Rover includes new diesel, transmission [w/video]

Filed under: SUV, Europe, Videos, Land Rover, UK, Luxury, Off-Road

2011 Land Rover Range Rover – Click above for high-res image gallery

It may seem hard to remember now, but back in the day – before Porsche Cayennes roamed the earth alongside Mercedes SUVs aplenty – the Range Rover was the be-all-and-end-all in the luxury sport-ute market. Today Range Rover may have some stiff competition, but JLR is keen to prove its top of the line is still the king of the hill, and to that effect has released a series of upgrades to the 2011 model.

First and foremost is the diesel drivetrain: a new 4.4-liter LT-TDV8 with 308 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque (rumored to be sourced from Ford) replaces the old 3.6-liter unit, coupled to a new ZF eight-speed automatic. The 7.5-second sprint to sixty may be a far cry from the 5.9 seconds it takes the gasoline-burning supercharged 5-liter V8, but for a heavy oil-burner returning over 30 miles per gallon on the European combined cycle (the first Range Rover to break that particular efficiency barrier), that’s nothing to cough at. Speaking of the Supercharged model, that engine carries over essentially unchanged, while the diesel benefits from the Supercharged model’s Brembo braking system.

Other revisions include an upgraded Terrain Response system, some minor cosmetic changes, new wheel options, an optional Exterior Design Pack and a special 40th anniversary Autobiography Black edition. These details – more of which you can read about in the press release and view in the video after the jump – are unfortunately limited to the European model, so we’ll have to sit tight for the revisions to reach American shores. No word on plans to bring the diesel model across the pond, so for now we’ll just have to add this to the growing list of torque-tastic diesels to admire from afar.

Gallery: 2011 Land Rover Range Rover