Land Rover's 2006 {{{Range Rover}}} drops in at NAIAS with more power under its hood and minor cosmetic changes to its skin.
The biggest news is the most powerful engine ever offered in a Land Rover: a supercharged, 400-hp, 420-lb-ft 4.2-liter V-8 that powers several current Jaguar models. A normally aspirated 4.4-liter V-8 producing 305 hp derived from the Jag 4.2 will also be available for the Land Rover flagship. Both engines should improve performance over the '05 Range Rover's sluggish (at least for it's $70,000+ price range) nine-second 0-60 times achieved with the BMW-sourced, 282-hp, 4.4-liter V-8. The two new mills will incorporate advanced torque-based engine-management systems that should yield better fuel economy numbers despite the increases in power.
Exterior changes to the '06 Range Rover will affect the front grille and bumper, power vents, taillamps, and wheels.
Most prominently, the headlight assemblies will be a bit smaller and more rounded following the example of Land Rover's newly released LR3. The high-beam lamp will protrude into the grille assembly, thus eliminating some of the vertical straight lines on the Range Rover's nose. The grille insets on supercharged models resemble the business end of a Remington MicroScreen electric razor, and replace the previous three-bar look that corporate parent Ford seems to have called rank for its upcoming models (i.e. Fusion, Fairlane concept, etc). Supercharged versions will also get unique twenty-inch alloy wheels.
Scheduled availability for the '06 Range Rovers is sometime this summer.