Land Rover Defender Rugby Trophy Truck Looks Like the Popemobile, Could Be Driven to Hell and Back

For the 2015 Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour—no, not the Cup itself—the Webb Ellis trophy awarded to the tournament’s winner will be taken on a 100-day tour of the U.K. and Scotland. Given that self-driving rugby trophies are still in development, the Webb Ellis cup will chaperoned throughout the British Isles via the ultra-bad-ass-looking Land Rover Defender you see here. Designed by Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations team, the trophy-deliverance machine boasts a glassed-in display case, as well as a bunch of other cool, albeit pointless, add-ons.

We’ll start with Special Vehicle Operation’s modifications that actually pertain to the transport of the Webb Ellis trophy. Starting with a Defender 110 wagon, the team fitted what is more or less a trophy cabinet to the SUV’s rear, complete with anti-glare security glass, climate controls, special lighting, and a 40-inch TV that will portray historic rugby moments. Seeing as how this Land Rover will play rugby ambassador during the tour, the interior has been fitted with special Windsor leather seats with gold stitching and contrasting blue piping; the headrests wear embroidered Rugby World Cup logos.

 And now for the not-so-trophy-tastic stuff: The specially outfitted Defender has an “expedition” roof rack, a front winch, aluminum sump skid plate, side steps, and a snorkel intake. Uh, the trophy is merely touring England and Ireland, not the Sahara, right? No matter, the off-road gear looks rad, and the Defender’s 2.2-liter diesel and six-speed manual combo has us positively drooling. Perhaps even more interesting than Land Rover’s pseudo-Popemobile rolling trophy case is the way the SUV made its debut: It was floated 25 miles down the Thames River in a 26-foot-tall inflatable rugby ball. Because rugby!

News Source: http://blog.caranddriver.com/land-rover-defender-rugby-trophy-truck-looks-like-the-popemobile-could-be-driven-to-hell-and-back/

Ford Raptor vs Jeep Wrangler Rubicon: Ultimate Off-Road Mashup

What is the best off-road vehicle in the land? TFLtruck wanted to put our long term Ford Raptor against another off-road machine – the 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Hard Rock. How does each handle a steep, muddy, and washed-out Rocky Mountain trail?  

Both of these vehicles have the ground clearance, approach/departure angles, and the tires to tackle the job. However, the Wrangler Rubicon has the ultimate hardware with locking front and rear differentials, disconnecting sway bar, rock sliders, and mud-terrain tires.

No matter, the SVT Raptor also has many of the goodies that make it one of the best off-road pickup trucks. If this truck has a disadvantage on the mountain trail, then it is its size. The Raptor is a foot wider than the Wrangler and four feet longer, since it is the crew cab version.

Check out this fun TFLtruck off-road video as the Ford Raptor takes on the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Hard Rock.

News Source: http://www.tfltruck.com/2015/05/ford-raptor-vs-jeep-wrangler-rubicon-ultimate-off-road-mashup-video/

Rugged Ridge Announces New Exo-Top for 2007-2015 Jeep Wrangler

Rugged Ridge is proud to release their innovative new Exo-Top for 2007-2015 Jeep Wranglers. This great new product combines the convenience of a soft top with the utility of a roof rack. Check it out.  

Official Release:

Rugged Ridge® today introduced its all-new Exo-Top soft top and roof rack for 2007-2015 Jeep Wrangler JK. The Exo-Top is an innovative, industry-first design that combines the joy of top-down driving with the utility of a roof rack, taking convenience, function and style to new levels by enabling Jeep owners to conveniently lower, raise or remove the Jeep’s soft top with ease without having to unload any gear or cargo from the roof rack. 

Available now for four door JK Wranglers, and in summer 2015 for two door models, the Rugged Ridge Exo-Top features a patent-pending design that is a direct bolt-on application with no drilling required for installation. 

By combining the convenience of a soft top with the utility of a roof rack, the Exo-Top allows owners to experience a Jeep to its full potential for camping, off-roading, or as part of any outdoor lifestyle. The Exo-Top features an innovative Sun Slider® retractable function, which allows the top to slide back with the release of just two clips, creating an open-top experience for owners without the hassle of getting out of the driver’s seat. 

Integrated into the 300-lb. capacity roof rack is an advanced externally suspended soft top design that fastens using a series of Velcro straps along the perimeter bars of the roof rack. The pulling force applied by the Velcro helps to tighten and shape the soft top, and completely eliminates the need to unload any gear or cargo from the roof rack in order to conveniently lower, raise or remove the Jeep’s soft top. 

The Exo-Top is also compatible with most standard rack attachments and accessories in the industry, enabling Jeep owners to utilize the Exo-Top to safely haul any type of gear or equipment for outdoor adventures, including bicycles, skis, snowboards and kayaks. 

“What’s great about the Exo-Top is the freedom and versatility it gives Jeep owners,” said Patrick Bennett, Product Development Manager at Omix-ADA. “By combining the soft top and roof rack, the Exo-Top allows Wrangler owners to spend more time enjoying their Jeep in any setting rather deal with a cumbersome soft top and roof rack that were never designed to work together.” 

The Rugged Ridge Exo-Top is available online now for four door JK Wrangler applications at an MSRP of $1,732.99, and will be available for two door JK Wrangler models in summer 2015 at an MSRP of $1,599.99.

Features:

• Convenient soft top

• Rugged roof rack

• Velcro straps

• No drilling required

• Sun Slider retractable function

News Source: http://www.offroadxtreme.com/news/new-products/rugged-ridge-announces-new-exo-top-for-2007-2015-jeep-wrangler/

Hear the Lamentations of the Boulders: Land Rover Prepping Burly SVX Off-Road Models

We’ll start with an apology to any fans of two-door Subarus who have found this page via a wayward Google search. Because the SVX that brings us here isn’t the compellingly bizarre Giugiaro-designed 1990s coupe—one of the biggest automotive flops of the past 25 years—but rather Land Rover’s plans to use the acronym for some butched-up off-road models.  

As with most of the interesting stuff happening at Jaguar Land Rover, this is the work of the company’s newly formed Special Vehicle Operations division. And, yes, it involves more acronyms. In a recent interview, SVO boss John Edwards told us that it plans to launch SVX models to provide “added capability” alongside the performance-orientated SVR and luxurious SVAutobiography versions the division is also charged with creating. 

But while we’ll see SVR and—we believe—SVAutobiography versions of both Jaguar and Land Rover products, SVX will be exclusive to Land Rover. There are no more details to go on at the moment, but we’re told to look at events like the Camel Trophy and Dakar Rally to see the inspiration for the new direction, which will combined increased performance with radically improved off-road performance. So something like a Bowler Wildcat then? Or a Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6? “It could be either of those things, it could be both,” said Edwards, enigmatically. “This is the third side of the product triangle, and one that we think has got huge potential.”We don’t yet have any timelines, or even hints about which of the company’s products will get the SVX treatment first, although the next Land Rover Defender is probably the most obvious candidate. Edwards did admit that, having seen both SVAutobiography and SVR models, it would be logical for us to expect to see an SVX “relatively soon.” So this is good news for people who think Land Rovers have gone a bit soft since they started putting carpets in them.

News Source: http://blog.caranddriver.com/hear-the-lamentations-of-the-boulders-land-rover-prepping-burly-svx-off-road-models/