| Concept Car Preview | Detroit Auto Show 2008 | Land Rover LRX |

The powers that be inside Land Rover decided that the world could wait until December 18 to find out about an exciting new concept car to be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show, but the LRX just could not be contained and, as early as last week leaked official photographs began circulating on the Internet.

Word is that the sporty LRX is incredibly close to production, and that it signifies, not only the next generation of Land Rover design, but also a move towards more environmentally friendly cars from the most prominent of all off-roader producers.

Until the showroom model surfaces, we can only speculate on the powertrain, but the LRX's style deserves more than just a mention. It appears to be a crossover in the vein of the Mazda CX-7, with a distinctly sporting bias. Land Rover's designers have done a fantastic job on retaining brand design hallmarks, especially those from the Range Rover cars, though the LRX is a much more youthful car even than the Range Rover Sport.

There are several aspects of the LRX that are likely to be for the Detroit Show only, such as the glass roof and some of the interior jewellery, but if the interior of the Jaguar XF is anything to go by, the basic architecture should make it through to production, as might details such as the pop-out Terrain Response controller in the centre console.

On the outside, the concept makes do with modestly sized alloys, which is a sure sign that it's not too far removed from the real thing. We'll learn more next week and we'll see the LRX for ourselves at the Detroit Show in January.

Shane O' Donoghue - 14 Dec 2007