Why the specific June 17 date? Because this marks 40 years to the day since the original Range Rover was first revealed to the public, and since the production LRX will be badged as a Range Rover it is entirely possible that this is when it will be revealed.
The information comes from several inside sources at Land Rover who also revealed that production would likely start in early 2011 with the compact SUV to go on sale shortly after as a 2012 model. Production will be handled at Land Rover’s Halewood facility in the UK, which employs about 2,000 people and is currently responsible for the LR2 and now defunct Jaguar X-Type.
Last year, Land Rover released an official image of the production LRX and gave a tentative confirmation that a hybrid version would also be offered alongside the regular gasoline and diesel models.
The prototype seen here features a three-door bodystyle and closely resembles the original concept car from which it derives its styling.
The original LRX concepts (there were a pair of black and white versions) was first revealed at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show and featured a new 2.0-liter diesel-hybrid powertrain, which when running on bio-diesel achieves a fuel-economy of 60 mpg. Expect to see some version of this eventually feature in the production version of the LRX. Other elements of the concept vehicle that could make production include carbon-fiber panels to save weight and engine stop-start systems to further reduce fuel consumption.
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