Land Rover is working on an SUV positioned below the Discovery Sport. This SUV, codenamed ‘L860’ will be underpinned by the Omega-Arc platform of the Tata Harrier.
Background
This isn’t the first time we are hearing of a low-cost Land Rover SUV internally called Land Rover L860 and slotted below the Land Rover Discovery Sport. A few years ago, it was said that Land Rover planned to manufacture this model in India but had changed its mind in late-2016 fearing the consequences of Brexit and trade war sparked by the Trump administration. In 2017, it was reported that the Land Rover L860 will probably be manufactured either at the Halewood plant in the UK or the new Nitra plant in Slovakia.
New Development
Even though the Land Rover L860 may not be built as cost-efficiently as originally planned (alongside the Tata Harrier in India), it'll still hold great potential for increasing Land Rover's sales significantly. That's because the plan still involves the usage of the same low-cost platform. Developed on the basis of the Land Rover Discovery Sport and the Range Rover Evoque's D8 platform, this platform is internally called ‘D10'.
The Land Rover 860 will be a more sophisticated product than the Tata Harrier, obviously. Expected to cost nearly 50% more than the Tata Harrier (INR 12,99,755* onwards in India) in Europe, it'll pack a lot more safety features and a better mechanical setup. Its front subframe will be significantly more refined. Moreover, it will have a Land Rover-specific front suspension system.
The Land Rover L860 should be offered with 1.5-litre three-cylinder and 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium engines. Mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid eco-friendly technologies are also expected.
Also Read: 2019 Land Rover Discovery Sport vs. 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport - Old vs. New
Debut Timeline
The Land Rover 860 will now reportedly break cover in 2021. Expect it to be launched in India a year later, with the possibility of local manufacturing for domestic sales and maybe exports to select markets.
*Ex-showroom Delhi
[Source 1: autocar.co.uk]
[Source 2: just-auto.com]
