Range Stormer is a high performance,
sports tourer SUV which began as a concept
car in 2004. Today it is available in the
UAE; in Alwan Cars LLC to be precise.
Alwan Cars started operations in 1993 and
have grown steadily to more than five showrooms
in Sharjah and Dubai. Specializing in
export and import of cars worldwide, Alwan
Cars is renowned for its sports cars.
The 4.2L 500 hp Range Stormer is currently
retailed at AED 1,650,000 and is
only the 3rd of its kind manufactured in
West Coast Customs, USA. It is a modern,
striking, high-technology vehicle very much
conceived to be an on-road, high performance
machine, as well as class-leading offroad
like all Land Rovers. Breadth of capability
is one of its many strengths.
A major innovation is Terrain Response.
This smart and simple-to-use new Land
Rover technology delivers the best possible
on-road and off-road composure and control,
by optimizing the entire vehicle set-up
including suspension, powertrain, throttle
response and traction control. The driver
simply selects the appropriate Terrain
Response setting from the six available on
Range Stormer, varying from dynamic, for
high speed or winding tarmac roads, normal,
for day-to-day driving, grass
/gravel/snow, for slippery conditions to
sand, deep ruts and rocks for extreme offroading.
Terrain Response controls the
engine (including engine mapping), gearbox,
air suspension (ride height and firmness),
driveline controls (such as differential settings),
traction control functions (including
Dynamic Stability Control and Hill Descent
Control) and the brakes (ABS and
Electronic Brakeforce Distribution).
The Range Stormer is the sportiest
looking vehicle ever to wear a Land Rover
badge clearly has the Range Rover genes
with the classic Land Rover design language,
such as the clamshell bonnet, “floating
roof”, castellated corners on the hood,
the straight waistline and short front overhang.
Less traditional Land Rover cues
include the low roofline, power bulge in the
hood and the huge 22-inch forged alloy
wheels.
The design is peppered with interesting
and practical ideas. The doors are a twopiece,
electrically powered type: the upper
half hinging up and forwards, while the
lower half drops to provide a step to the
cabin. The two-piece tailgate is electric, the
upper half lifting and the lower dropping
behind the bumper to give optimized
access into the loadspace. Floor compartments
rise and lower electrically for
improved additional stowage. Headlamps
feature 'crushed ice' glass lenses and
throw out an excellent light spread from
the Bi-Xenon bulbs. These diamond-like
lights also swivel with the steering wheel
to help the car to 'see' around corners.
Side-mounted LEDs also illuminate at
appropriate steering wheel angles, further
improving the driver's ability to see where
the car is heading. The design lines of the
interior are very structural - simple rather
than ornate. The dash and centre console
flow around the occupants, to deliver a
sporty cockpit.
The interior features four distinctive
individual seats. Their radical design is
inspired by the concept of the Möbius
strip, the saddle leather facings being cut
from a single hide. As well as covering the
seats, red saddle leather is also used on
the top roll of the dashboard and centre
console The seat frames, a striking part of
the cabin design, are aluminium, as are
many of the switches. Others are swathed
in leather. Instruments are back-lit, with
aluminium faces. The DVD screen in the
front swivels away when not in use, for the
sophisticated information and entertainment
systems.
This sporty, high performance SUV features
a supercharged V8, specially developed
for Land Rover from the renowned
Jaguar engine used in the high performance
XJR and XKR models. As well as dedicated
power and torque outputs, the
engine has been engineered to meet Land
Rover's particular and exacting requirements,
including the ability to run smoothly
at acute fore/aft and side angles and
waterproofing, for safe wading. The engine
delivers power to all four wheels by a
smooth-shifting ZF six-speed electronically
controlled automatic gearbox. Like all Land
Rovers, the four-wheel drive is engaged
permanently and electronically-selectable
low-range is available for tough off-roading.
