Jaguar Land Rover Sues Bentley Over The Bentayga's All Terrain System

As the competition heats up, so does the potential for lawsuits.

For many years the most luxurious off-road capable SUV you could buy was a Land Rover Range Rover. Today, the Bentley Bentayga is on the scene and the Rolls-Royce Cullinan will go on sale soon. Now that the competition is greater than ever for Jaguar Land Rover, it only makes sense for the automaker to study its rivals inside and out. And lo and behold, JLR believes the Bentley Bentayga infringes on its patent regarding its Terrain Response technology.

According to Cars UK and IPWire, JLR sued Bentley Motors earlier this month in Federal District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, over a patent infringement. JLR claims Bentley’s All Terrain Specification comes with a Drive Dynamics system that offers Snow, Ice, and Wet Grass, Dirt and Gravel, Mud and Trail and Sand Modes – nearly the same as its own Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud and Ruts, Sand, and Rocks modes. As part of the suit, JLR filed a 30-page complaint seeking monetary damages, attorney’s fees, and a permanent injunction against Bentley. This likely won't be easy to win, let alone prove.

Although the Bentayga launched only in 2016, JLR claims its reputation for “innovative and technologically advanced four-wheel drive Sports Utility Vehicles dates back over 70 years... and its Terrain Response system is one of those innovations.” Unless JLR can prove that specific technology was directly copied, we don’t really see how the court will take its side. Plenty of automakers build SUVs with their own off-road systems. Competition dictates for any modern system to be able to accommodate all of those aforementioned terrain conditions. VW/Bentley should not have to come up with new words for Snow, Gravel, and the like.

Of Course A Land Rover Range Rover Velar SVR Is Coming Soon

And it's main target: the BMW X6 M.

There was no way Land Rover was never not going to do a Ranger Velar SVR. An SUV that looks as striking as the Velar not given the high-performance treatment? Please. Autocar has learned Land Rover engineers are currently putting on the finishing touches, and, assuming all goes as planned, we could see the hot SUV debut at either Geneva or New York this spring. Sources claim it’ll be on sale next October in the UK, so that springtime reveal makes total sense. As for what’ll be under its hood, there was only ever one option: the supercharged 5.0-liter V8.

This time around it’s expected to produce somewhere in the neighborhood of 540 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. Expect a 0-62 mph time of around 4.2 seconds. Because of the added weight of the engine, engineers were tasked with shaving off some poundage, which isn’t exactly easy to do on an SUV. Overall curb weight is down, but we won’t know by how much exactly until the debut. A number of chassis and suspension upgrades were also part of the agenda, and Velar SVR test mules have been previously spotted making some noise at the Nurburgring. Also because of the added power, engineers developed a more aggressive driving mode designed and coded specifically for high speed.

The interior will undoubtedly be a work of art, as it is in the standard Velar. Like with all other SVR models, upgrades will likely include plenty of unique badging, trim bits (such as more aluminum, etc.) and other improvements. Pricing? It’ll certainly cost more than the highest trim Velar right now, but it won’t infringe too far into Range Rover Sport territory. In any case, the Land Rover Velar has been a smash hit for the automaker, and the high-performance SVR version will definitely find plenty of buyers as well. After all, it has tons of BMW X6 Ms to chase after.

Can't Afford The Range Rover Velar? Here Are Some Cheaper Alternatives

The Velar may be stunning, but there are cheaper ways to have a unique SUV.

The massive demand for SUVs has certainly helped Land Rover, a company that exclusively sells utility vehicles, to expand its lineup with new models like the Range Rover Velar. While we are smitten with the new luxury SUV, it certainly isn't cheap. Even the base P250 version starts at nearly $50,000. That seems like a lot of money for a 2.0-liter 247 horsepower turbocharged SUV. Fully-loaded Velar models can cost over $90,000 and we think that there are plenty of alternatives on the market worthy of your attention.

BMW X6M

Land Rover is reportedly working on an SVR version of the Velar, but for now the most powerful version is a 380-hp supercharged V6. Our first car not only blows that power figure out of the water, it pretty much invented the Coupe-SUV segment. That's right, it is now possible to buy a BMW X6 M for well under $50,000. We found a few examples of the refreshed X6 M within budget, but the first generation model is the better value. We saw examples of the original X6 M for under $30,000. The X6 M was powered by a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 555 hp. Power was upped to 567 hp in 2015 and the transmission gained two extra gears for a total of eight.

Range Rover Sport

The Velar might be the hottest new model in the Range Rover lineup, but we shouldn't forget the original expansion of the Range Rover line, the Range Rover Sport. For less than the price of a four-cylinder Velar, we found examples of the latest body-style Range Rover Sport with the Supercharged V6 and V8 engines. Most of the examples we found were 2014 models, which was the first year of the new-look Range Rover Sport. The Supercharged V6 produced 340 hp while the V8 put out a whopping 510 hp. Most examples that we found were around $45,000 with the V6, although we did find two V8 models with 85,000 and 90,000 miles on their odometers.

Infiniti FX

The supercharged V6 in the Range Rover Sport is a great option, but we wouldn't mind having a big V8. Our next cheap alternative is one of the most unique V8 engines ever produced, because it was only ever put into one car. The Infiniti FX was eventually renamed the QX70 and was later discontinued. Before it was killed off, Infiniti gifted the FX SUV with a 5.0-liter V8 that was derived from an LMP3 race car. In the FX50, this V8 produced 390 hp. We found high mileage examples for less than $20,000, with pristine examples commanding around $30,000. The FX50 is one of the ultimate sleeper cars because most people have forgotten that it even existed.

Isuzu VehiCross

The next car on our list is the oldest and cheapest alternative. The Isuzu VehiCross has mostly been forgotten, but we still think that is has value as a collector car. Old SUVs like the Jeep Wagoneer have been rising in value, and we think that the VehiCross is due to be worth more than it is now. The most expensive one we could find was around $15,000, but most can be purchased for less than $10,000. The VehiCross was powered by a 3.5-liter V6 with 210 hp, which was a lot at the time. The VehiCross is a solid off-roader thanks to its advanced Torque On Demand system. The VehiCross is rare with only 4,153 units ever produced and we'd love to have one.

Ford Edge ST

Our final cheap alternative is the only new model on our list. Even though the new Ford Edge ST isn't even on sale yet and hasn't had any time to depreciate, we still like it as a cheap alternative to a new Velar. Ford hasn't released pricing yet, but it should be close to the current Edge Sport, which costs $40,675. This is around $10,000 less than a base Velar, and the Edge ST will have two extra cylinders, an extra turbo, and 335 hp (88 more than the Velar). Of course, the Edge ST cannot match the Velar on prestige, but it will be a more affordable car to maintain and an all-around great SUV.

BMW's New Range Rover Rival Nears Production

Final preparations are underway for BMW's biggest SUV ever.

First previewed by the X7 iPerformance concept, BMW’s answer to the Mercedes GLS and Range Rover is nearing production. And as you can see from these latest photos sent by our spy photographers, it’s quite a behemoth. Set to become BMW’s biggest SUV ever, these new spy shots give us a first look at a pre-production prototype X7 being loaded onto a truck on its way to a test facility. The X7 will be BMW’s first full-size SUV with room for up to seven occupants in its spacious cabin.

The prototype shows the two rear seats are in an upright position, but when used as a five-seater it’s safe to say the X7 will offer considerably more cargo space than the X5. There should be plenty of legroom for passengers using the second-row seats too, and getting in and out of the X7 looks hassle-free thanks to the long rear doors. Our spies also managed to snap some shots of the interior allowing us to have a peak inside BMW’s lavish SUV before it enters production. Clearly, the cabin is still a work in progress. As you would expect, the X7 sports a fully digital instrument cluster but look closely and you can see it depicts the 7 Series, so the prototype is still running on the sedan’s software.

Nevertheless, it still gives us an idea what the production X7 should look like inside. The X7 is based on a stretched version of BMW’s CLAR platform, which also underpins the 7 Series, 5 Series and the new X5. Under the hood, expect the X7 to be offered with a range of six- and eight-cylinder engines in both gasoline and diesel guises, though we doubt the latter will be available in America. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but a plug-in version is also likely to happen. BMW’s new Range Rover Rival is expected to debut later this year, possibly at the LA Auto Show in November.