1997 Land Rover LCV2/3

Faced with ever rising fuel prices and more stringent total vehicle emissions legislation, Land Rover initiated a programme of work in the early 1990s to investigate lightweight technologies for their production 4x4 vehicles. The Lightweight Concept Vehicle (LCV) programme planned to investigate and develope new technologies, culminating in a vehicle that would enhance Land Rover's off road ability and achieve a combined fuel economy of 40mpg.

The first vehicle in the programme, code named LCV1, was based on a series 1 Discovery. The vehicle weight was reduced by replacing the steel chassis frame and body panels with aluminium replicas. The second, LCV2, was based on a Defender 90 concept. Through the design of a unique bonded and riveted spaceframe, the strength and durability of the aluminium vehicle was comparable to that of a production Defender. This design approach resulted in a significant reduction in the overall vehicle weight, giving a much improved fuel economy, increased performance with no loss of off road ability.

The final vehicle to be manufactured in the programme, LCV 2/3, further developed the lightweight technologies to investigate their benefit on vehicle performance. The spaceframe design philosophy and construction techniques were essentially the same as those employed for LCV2. The upper structure, however, was redesigned to accomodate the change of body from station wagon to pickup and development of the style to improve the overall vehicle aerodynamics. A fully revised cab interior also brought the vehicle up to date. The 2.0 L diesel was replaced with an aluminium 2.5L V6 petrol engine to further improve the vehicle's performance.