Research by Land Rover into the electric vehicle market has led to the Electric Defender vehicle going on trial at the Eden Project, in St Austell, Cornwall. The Eden Project itself is a serious environmental sustainability project and so the exposure of the Land Rover Electric Defender will be great marketing for the company. Anyone who has visited the Eden Project will know that it is built in an old quarry, which means from the public car park there’s a long walk down, which you then have to walk back up! The Electric Defender will now tow the four-carriage 12 tonne road train, carrying some 60 passengers on the six per cent incline to and from the entrance. The vehicle’s Hill Descent Control is linked to an energy regenerative braking system allowing for a lot of the whole rig’s kinetic energy to be recovered. It is claimed therefore that the Electric Defender can work for a full eight-hour day, and then be plugged in at night for a recharge that is claimed to cost only £2.00. As Jeremy Greenwood, Principal Engineer on the Electric Defender project, explained: “The Defender has been modified so it now includes a second battery. This will allow it to work a full day at the Eden Project, but also improves weight distribution and stability. In addition, we’ve linked the land train’s air brakes to the foot pedal of the Land Rover, enhancing safety.”

We first saw the Bentley SUV at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show (4×4, May 2102 and pictured above). Then code-named the EXP 9 F, this huge beast was powered by the 6.0-litre W12 twin turbo engine, coupled to an eight-speed gearbox. Besides all the leather and rare wood trim luxury, it also sported a ‘sump cam’ so you could see what was under the car when negotiating that arduous gravel drive to your country pile. Opinions on its looks varied, but one thing was obvious, this was more than just the design studio producing a futuristic ‘concept’ vehicle; this was a pre-production model, ready to go if the decision was made.

Well now that decision has been made, and Bentley has announced a massive £800m investment for the Crewe production plant. Over 1000 UK jobs will be created, and the first Bentley SUV will roll off the line some time in 2016. Whether it will actually look like the EXP 9 F concept has not been confirmed. Indeed, the ‘teaser’ drawing released with the announcement, shown here below left, would indicate a rather lower, more ‘sporting’ body style. Bentley has said that the response to the Geneva Show car was ‘extremely positive’.

The wonderfully named Butterstone Loch is the new venue for Land Rover Experience Scotland. Based in the Perthshire Highlands, the new centre is more spacious and offers highly scenic driving routes across the nearby private estates. That means that beside the specially built obstacle course, swamp and rock crawl area, drivers will be able to experience some wonderful scenic drives across land that you could not otherwise visit. LRE’s new lodge in Scotland is based in an area of Special Scientific Interest, and rich in wildlife. The lodge has conference facilities for up to 50 people. Despite being wonderfully remote, the lodge is only 15 minutes from Dunkeld village and the main A9 north-south route, making it just over an hour from Edinburgh airport. The new director and lead instructor is Will Cox, joining Beverley Lodge and Graham Clark. Well worth a visit.