Not many rugged off-roaders have style these days. There’s only one that springs to mind which is the Mercedes G55 AMG, but that costs supercar money to buy and run. However there’s now another proper off-roader from Mitsubishi that aims to look good and cross all manner of terrains; the Shogun Black.

It’s the second of Mitsubishi’s products to come with the limited edition ‘Black’ styling tweaks, the first being the baby ASX crossover. Don’t forget to subscribe to Car Throttle YouTube’s channel as our winter sports day review of the ASX Black will be hitting your screens soon!

The Shogun Black is pretty much the top of the range, long wheel-based, 7-seat SG4 but it comes with black 20″ alloys, rear spoiler, wing mirrors, grille, side steps, door handles, roof rails and fog lamp surrounds. Even though it’s called the ‘Black’ you can have it in a choice of five colours but no matter which colour you choose the roof will always be black, giving a panoramic sunroof effect at all times.

It comes with the same engine as the SG4, a 3.2L Di-D diesel, which now promises 197bhp and 325lb ft of torque and best-in-class CO2 emissions. The high power means you can tow anything up to 3,500kg, such as a large caravan or a few Lotus Elises.

Inside you get features such as leather upholstery, satellite navigation, Bluetooth, an iPod socket and a reversing camera, which will definitely help park the big family tank, as standard. You also get other features such as stability and traction control, automatic lights and wipers, privacy glass, rear under-cover and a brake override system too.

The Shogun Black is available to order now and costs £42,799 which sounds like a lot but that’s similar to the bog standard BMW X5 and Audi Q7 and a whole lot cheaper than the mad Mercedes G55 but more expensive than lower spec 3.0L V6 Diesel Land Rover Discoveries, the award winning luxury 4×4.

Set to launch in 2015, the first unveil was that of the hardtop DC100 Concept. According to Design Director Gerry McGovern who was on stage to help build excitement before the covers came off, Land Rover have put forward three concepts which could make it into production, with the 100 inch wheelbase DC100 a strong contender to be the eventual replacement for the 67-year-old Defender.

Design cues have been evidently taking from both old and new Land Rover lineups. A rugged front grille and box-shaped roof to tie in with Defender history really showcase clean lines which is an effect transmitted onto the sumptuous Range Rove Evoque. This concept is a 3 door with a 4×4 drive system which can tackle any terrain and scale seemingly impossible terrain. Indeed in the video short we were shown before the unveiling, we saw the DC100 pounding through rain-swept lands and hard rock-faces. I’m sure anyone who actually buys this beauty will want to get any specks of dirt on it at all though.

Innovations in these futuristic concepts include an off-road terrain scanning device to detect potential obstacles and a sonar depth-sounder for fording through rivers. Truly incredible technology!

Yet more impressive was the sudden roll-out of the DC100 Sport Concept onto the stage which was met by shrieks of excitement and the sound of a million shutters all scrambling to get a picture of the orange/yellow open-top variant. The exterior body work is understandably loud and attention-seeking so if these concepts were to make it into production, we would expect a touch of normality to be resumed.

With great power comes great responsibility, and Land Rover’s management and team know that it will be difficult to make this a smooth transition from such an iconic Defender shape and purpose that has been with us for over half a century. In my opinion the Defender DC100 Concept achieves the rugged nature that any hardcore Land Rover is supposed to possess and manages to wow with in-your-face styling. I would be amazed if the high-tech interior makes it into the real-life model which should be in dealerships in a couple of years but then again we only need to take a look at the high-def large touchscreen found in the McLaren MP4-12C to have a good understanding of how far we’ve come technologically.

Jaguar Land Rover as a brand have coloured me deeply impressed both with these DC100 Concepts and the C-X16 concept sports car and I can’t wait to see what happens when they start on factory production if ever.

America has the Wrangler, Japan has the Land Cruiser and Patrol, and Britain has the Defender.  Well, and the Bowler Wildcat and Nemesis.  But while the Defender continues to carry LR’s true off-roader torch (it received a new emissions-compliant 2.2L Diesel for this year!), it’s not long for this world.

Land Rover without a Defender is like Chevrolet without a Corvette, so a replacement is in the works.  This concept car to debut at the Frankfurt Show this year, dubbed the DC100, is a preview of a modernized Defender.

So… what is is?  Well, Land Rover has been pretty sparse on actual details on the DC100 concept, and they’ve only released the two pictures you see here.  From it’s general proportions, it looks related to the Evoque soft-roader, which I find a bit hard to believe is a reasonable basis for a Defender replacement, but we just don’t know.  The off-road “covered with mud” shot looks a bit forced, but it’s still nice to see a concept car on a trail.  I wouldn’t have wanted to be the guy to take a multi-million-dollar bespoke concept truck onto a trail, that’s for sure.

LR does say it intends to produce a Defender replacement by 2015, but not necessarily that it’ll look like the DC100.  More details on this intriguing concept will be revealed September 13 at Frankfurt, so stay tuned!

At the beginning of the month, Land Rover released more details about its new Evoque crossover.

They include its starting price – $43,995 for the four door model, and the 28 MPG highway figure for the front-wheel drive model. That makes it the most fuel-efficient Land Rover ever – a huge departure, no doubt.

Land Rover certainly has no inhibitions about being different with the Evoque. Radical styling, turbocharged four-cylinder engines and a two-door model that most said wouldn’t be a very viable seller.

A new report from Autoblog.nl says that Land Rover could be looking to take the being different theme even further, with a four-door convertible in the vein of Nissan’s Murano CrossCabriolet.

The car would have a folding roof, produced in England and likely very low in volume. There is even the possibility of it being tied in with a special edition model – such as the Victoria Beckham Evoque that Autocar speculated about earlier in the month.

It might seem like a daring move, but given that Nissan shocked everyone with the Murano CrossCabriolet, anything is on the table. Sources say an Evoque without a roof could be appearing sometime in 2013. Meanwhile, standard Evoque two and four-door versions are going on sale in the United States this summer.

Yes, you read that right. There is now such a thing as a Land Rover that gets 28 MPG highway (and 19 city). After first seeing the production model last year, Land Rover has released pricing information and other details about its new baby.

Past attempts (like the LR2/Freelander) at cracking into the small luxury crossover segment have for the most part, failed. The Evoque doesn’t replace the LR2 though, which is priced below the Evoque at $36,550.

The LR2 retains serious off-road capabilities and is designed for a different kind of consumer. For whatever reason (likely down to styling and levels of refinement) the LR2 has never reached the fashion status that its larger brethren have.

The Evoque’s goal is to evoke (sorry, we had to) the Range Rover impression on a smaller level, geared toward urban, style-concious customers. It appears to succeed to that end – for instance luxury in the interior is top notch and every bit a smaller version of the Range Rover.

The four-door, which is the volume model for the range, checks in at $43,995. The (amazing) two-door model is a bit higher at $44,995. Both prices include destination, so what you see is the price you get (before ticking expensive options, of course).

The Evoque is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 240 horsepower. It is mated to either front-wheel drive (shock!) or Land Rover’s Terrain Response all-wheel drive. Land Rover promises “all-weather, all-surface” capability with the AWD system, along with better breakover and departure angles than other SUVs in its class.

It remains to see if that will be true, but we’re looking forward to finding out. Deliveries around the world begin in the Fall.

Being the 5 door version of the good looking 3 door Evoque it shares the same good looks. However, if you looked at it properly it somehow looks like an overgrown BMW Mini with that white roof top and its stance. Mini looks aside, it isn’t mini in size in the first place. That aside, the unique thing about the Evoque 5 door is that according to Land Rover, it will have the same footprint as its 3 door sibling. The width and the length is the same as the 3 door version. This tells us that the 3 door Evoque is already a large enough vehicle with long coupe-like front doors and liberal use of the shape to style the car.

The 5 door basically cuts the front door’s size (slightly) and adds rear doors to the design. Clever packaging and an increase in roof line by 30mm has also liberated more shoulder room for the rear passengers by about 50mm. There is also a full length panoramic roof option to enhance the feeling of interior space.

The Evoque 5 door will come with keyless-go, park assist function, blind spot monitoring, adaptive headlights, a 5-camera surround camera system that is connected to a reversing sensor system and an entertainment package with two 8-inch video screens for the rear passengers. The press release also states that it comes with DAB/FM/AM/Sirius tuners, with hard drive virtual 10xCD multiplayer. Ooooh…FM Radio. Yes, press releases can sometimes be a little too detailed for their own good.

As for the Evoque 5 door’s engines, the SUV will initially get a 2.2-litre 4 cylinder turbodiesel engine in 150PS and 190PS forms as well as a 2.0-litre direct injection turbocharged petrol engine that offers up 240PS. The power will be transmitted to the front wheels like the 3 door Evoque with full time Four Wheel Drive stated as an option. Land Rover is targeting this SUV for the more urbane, city dwelling  customers. It seems to be more suited for school runs rather than cross country off road driving. In fact, the press photos feature the Evoque in something like an underground carpark and in the city.

That said, the Evoque 5 door will have optional Adaptive Dynamics system with advanced MagneRide dampers that will provide the driver with selectable options for him to choose between a supple, controlled ride and sharper handling responses.

Being a Range Rover, Land Rover states that the Evoque 5 door will have better than average off-road capability. Combined with its reasonably high ground clearance, it will have better break-over and departure angles compared to other compact SUVs in the market as the Evoque 5 door (as with the 3 door version) has very short overhangs. This would help the car in ascending and descending hilly terrain.

If you combine the factors above in a Four Wheel Drive optioned Evoque 5 door equipped with Land Rover’s Terrain Response System which includes Land Rover’s fabulous hill descent system, it would seem that the Evoque 5 door will be a pretty good farmer’s car. IF a farmer were to actually buy it in the first place, as I have a nagging feeling that the Victoria Beckhams of the world will be the Evoque’s number one customer.

Aston isn’t done with the information trickling out yet either. They’ve introduced a new video as part four of a series on the car. An interesting fact about the One-77 is that, at 750 horsepower, it is the world’s highest output naturally-aspirated vehicle.

It achieves that power output from a 7.3-liter V-12 engine. Check out more details on the One-77 and some action below.

Land Rover Shows Off Evoque

Not to be left out is fellow brand Land Rover, which drops new footage of its Evoque crossover. The new vehicle will come in two-door iteration at first, but a four-door model is coming as well, which ensures increased sales for the model.

That’s a smart move on Land Rover’s part. The two-door model, while extremely cool to us, will likely have limited appeal in the marketplace. Two promo videos showing of Land Rover’s latest are shown below.

The concept was introduced at the 2008 North American International Auto Show. Mind you, the LRX moniker hasn’t been confirmed – Land Rover has yet to officially confirm that name. It is clearly the production version of the concept though.

Yes, that is the LRX. Often manufacturers introduce good-looking concepts only to significantly water them down for production. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Land Rover and the “new small Range Rover.” Good thing? Yes.

Land Rover sees this new model as an essential component to growing the brand and attracting a new buyer base. We see a heavy amount of brand dilution though in the ways the new vehicle will be able to be configured.

Today the company confirmed it will be available with in front-wheel drive and hybrid versions. Front-wheel drive, on a Land Rover? We always knew the LRX would be the lightest and most fuel-efficient Land Rover, but their job just got a lot easier with FWD.

Phil Popham, Land Rover’s managing director, had this to say  about the announcement: “This is good news for the company and for our customers. A 2WD option is just one way in which we are developing our vehicles efficiency whilst adding to the Land Rover range and expanding our customer base.”

What makes a Land Rover? Anyhow, the car will still be available with a four-wheel drive system. Hopefully it will be up to the off-road level of previous Land Rovers. For more pictures of the baby Land Rover, check out Autoblog’s gallery.

It appears that those combined factors are helping the Jaguar and Land Rover to move from red to black. In the world of business as well as fashion, black is always in.

India’s Tata Motors, who owns the two British luxury brands, recently reported sales and financial results for the quarter ending September 30th. In that that time, sales for Jaguar Land Rover increased by about 23%, for a total of 44,300 vehicles compared to 35,900.

An operating profit of $68 million was also recorded, which is a $128 million swing from the lost in 2008 $56 million. Consolidated net profit was only $4.7 million, but being in a profit right now at all is something to cheer.

It is quite an unexpected turnaround to happen so quickly. If things continue, Jaguar Land Rover should be well in the black as global economy begins to rebound and sales increase. Hopefully, the new XJ will be a success – early indications show that it could be.

“Feedback from our customer research (also) fully supports our belief that a production version of the LRX Concept would further raise the desirability of our brand and absolutely meet (their) expectations,” said Phil Popham, Land Rover’s managing director.

I agree with that assessment. For the future of the Land Rover brand, I think producing the LRX is a smart move that will help attract a wider audience. The most interesting thing about the announcement is that Land Rover is calling it a Range Rover. There has been a separation between Land Rover and Land Rover Range Rover, so I’m keen to see how that is all going to work out. Especially if the LRX turns out to have less of an emphasis on off-road capability. Maybe this is a sign that reduced capability won’t be the case?

Perhaps the best news though comes from Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern. He said the production LRX will be “true to the concept and have many recognisable Range Rover design cues, including the signature clamshell bonnet, the floating roof and the solid wheel-at-each-corner stance.” If this is true, the LRX is going to be good!