You know the deal by now. Moving over to electric car is a necessity. You might agree for the sake of
the planet or you might think it’s all a big scam and they’re actually worse but the government has spoken and that’s
that. The industry is getting more and more electric with each new model and all you can do is rant angrily on social media.

If there’s one vehicle among all of them that’s guaranteed to wind up those with a child-slavery-in-Bolivia-or-something stance on EVs, it’s the Lotus Eletre. ‘Simplify then add lightness,’ said Lotus mastermind Colin
Chapman, and EVs are heavy. Not only that, it’s an SUV. An SUV! Blazes…

Chapman also said something along the lines of ‘adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.’ And here we are in a Lotus SUV with, get ready for this, 905bhp. Not a misprint. Nine hundred and five. We’re pretty sure this is the most powerful production 4×4 we’ve ever seen, and aside from the occasional billionaire level hypercar it must be among the most powerful cars full stop. It has 905bhp, and 726lbf.ft, and it weighs 2640kg. Not a great deal of lightness added there, then.

Read the full article in the February issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202502

We’ve always kind of loved the Volkswagen Tiguan. It’s a bit like a smaller Touareg, and we’ve always loved that too,
ever since way back in 2003 when the first example came thundering in on a wave of V10 goodness.

The Tiguan was never quite that mental but it’s always been one of those vehicles you can’t help but admire. Its case wasn’t helped when the Skoda Kodiaq came out and it was a bit like when your hot new girlfriend takes you home to meet her family and you discover that her sister is ever hotter, but the sales charts showed that there was plenty of room in the market for both. We’re clearly not the only ones who’ve always loved the Tiguan.

The new Kodiaq came out last summer and has just been crowned 4×4 of the Year 2025. There was a new Touareg quite recently too and it’s as suave as ever. And then there’s the new Tiguan – which, unlike the old one, looks and feels more like a smaller take on the Touarag than a more Volksy take on the Kodiaq.

Read the full article in the February issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202502

Every now and again, someone does something mad and you’ve just got to stand back and admire them for
it. I’m not talking about mad in the Cape Fear sense, or the Charge of the Light Brigade or something like that – more the kind of madness, if that’s what it is, that drove people to climb Everest or discover America. Insert joke of choice here.

It’s not quite in the same league as those world-class feats of boldness. But someone, somewhere looked at the Cupra
Formentor and said ‘let’s turn it into an offroader.’ And then the people he said it to, rather than making some tired comment about answering a question nobody had asked, said yeah, alright, let’s. So they did.

The someone, at least at a corporate level, is JE Design. The company is German, as are so many of the most visionary tuners and modifiers, and it specialises in VW Group vehicles, specifically VW itself, Audi and Seat. Cupra is Seat’s stand-alone premium performance brand, not unlike what Lexus is to Toyota in terms of luxury.

JE says its main focus is ‘styling in the aerodynamic sector using synthetic materials that are manufactured using the methods of vacuum forming, injection moulding and foam plastic technology.’ Got that? We think it means they make
body kits. But there’s a lot more than just a mere body kit to this bad boy.

Read the full article in the February issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202502

Scottish Mountain Rescue recently held its annual National Training Conference. Naturally, off-road driving was one of the skills the charity’s volunteers were learning – and Ineos was on hand with a fleet of Grenadiers to help them do just that.

Based at Glenmore Lodge in the Cairngorms, the event saw representatives of ten mountain rescue teams tackle a variety of real-world rescue and recovery scenarios on the nearby Alvie Estate, using Ineos’ Grenadier station wagons and Quartermaster pick-ups. ‘We were able to provide our volunteers with crucial handson 4×4 coaching, training them to tackle tough terrain without the use of a vehicle-mounted winch,’ explained Ray Smith, 4×4 Lead at Scottish Mountain Rescue.

‘These skills are indispensable in many rescues where 4x4s are used, not only to transport volunteers to remote locations but also to move casualties and act as a mobile centre of operations. Everyone was impressed by the capability, comfort and characteristics of the Grenadiers.’

Read the full article in the February issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202502

‘THE MOST INTENSIVE TESTING ANY RANGE ROVER HAS EVER ENDURED.’ That’s quite a claim, but it’s what JLR says the forthcoming new Range Rover Electric is currently being put through as it endures temperatures exceeding 50°C in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates.

These tests make for eye-catching marketing, of course. But there’s much more to it than just that. The vehicle will debut a new Intelligent Torque Management system which allocates the job of managing wheelspin to each individual electric drive control unit. According to JLR, this reduces the reaction time at each wheel from around 100 milliseconds to as little as 1 millisecond – allowing the system to negate the results of traction loss more effectively than ever before.

This has been demonstrated in the UAE in particular when driving on fine sand. JLR says that during testing, its vehicles
are required to scale it five times without showing any reduction in performance in order to get a pass mark – and that the Range Rover Electric completed the feat with flying colours. ‘Well balanced weight distribution and an advanced suspension system maintain control and stability effortlessly through the sand, performing with ultimate composure. Uncompromised traction systems provide instant torque allowing for quick acceleration, responsiveness and a refined drive even when navigating diverse dune formations.’

Read the full article in the February issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202502