Range Rover Sport HST revealed with new mild-hybrid inline-six engine
Land Rover’s long awaited straight-six petrol engine has finally arrived with mild-hybrid assistance
Land Rover has revealed a new special edition Range Rover Sport called the HST. This is no simple stickers-and-stripes special though, as it’s the first Land Rover, and indeed JLR product to feature the group’s all-new hybridised straight-six Ingenium engine. Likely to spread throughout the global Jaguar Land Rover model range, the new inline-six engine will be used here first, complete with a 48V electrical system and electric supercharger.
The all-new 2996cc engine is assisted by a mild-hybrid system, recuperating kinetic energy and feeding a small electric motor connected between the engine and transmission. This electricity also powers a new 48V electrical system, which then powers an electronically driven compressor that aids the traditional twin-scroll turbocharger.
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Without the need to wait for the exhaust gases to get the traditional turbocharger spinning, the electric supercharger instantly primes the cylinder with compressed air to fill the inherent torque gap right at the base of the rev-range. This is a similar system to that seen in the Audi SQ7, although in this application is connected to a straight-six petrol rather than a V8 diesel.
Power is rated at 394bhp, with torque peaking at 405lb ft, figures that are still a little off benchmarks from AMG – which offers a similar mild-hybridised inline-six in its new ‘53’ models (428bhp) – but betters previous supercharged V6 engines found in older Range Rover Sport variants.
The electric supercharger technology isn’t the only new and advanced tech under the bonnet, with Land Rover’s own version of a Continuous Variable Valve Lift system, similar in practice to the Multiair system pioneered by Fiat, and Variable Cam timing also featuring. The results are improved CO2 ratings of 12 per cent, while a newly-fitted gasoline particulate filter reduces particulate emissions by 75 per cent.
Fuel consumption is rated at 30.5mpg on the modern WLTP cycle, so this is still no eco-warrior, but it is now a power unit that not only improves on the previous in terms of power and efficiency, but also passes all current emissions regulations.
The new ‘six is so far fitted only to the Range Rover Sport, but it’s likely the engine, in various specifications, will go on to underpin other mid-range Land Rover and Jaguar models – especially important in markets that don’t favour diesel powertrains, such as the US, China and the UAE.
The HST special edition’s specification is based on the HSE Dynamic trim line available elsewhere in the range, and is identified by specific touches like the red colour to the brake calipers, carbonfibre accents, and HST badging. All this tech doesn’t come cheap though, with pricing for the HST starting at £81,250, or around £10k more than an Audi SQ7 or BMW X5 M50d.
