Land Rover LRX confirmed

The Land Rover LRX Concept that debuted at the North American International Auto Show in 2008 has a lot of fans (I'm one of them). But as sometimes can be the case, the vehicles remain concept-only regardless. Thankfully that isn't the case this time, as Land Rover has made a production announcement about the LRX .

“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!