Range Rover news - LRX is go - 2009

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Land Rover's LRX has finally got the green light - but it will be badged as a Range Rover when it goes on sale next year.

The go-ahead comes after the Government confirmed a grant offer of up to £27m to support production at the Halewood factory.

The car will sit on a Freelander platform and keep the upmarket feel of the concept revealed at Detroit last year - and may add the option of an extra couple of doors before it makes it to market.

The official picture above is a mock up of how they expect the production version to look. As you'll see from our gallery shots, it's not far off the LRX at all - just new door handles, mirrors, a revised bumper and a new slot below the grille.

The big news, though, is the new small Rangey will be the greenest Land Rover yet. We were told to expect the first cars to be under 150g/km, with a later hybrid version offering 60mpg and 120g/km.

And proper Land Rover fans can relax - there are no plans to offer a two-wheel-drive version...