Land Rover->ke46 is set to embark on a massive and admittedly ambitious expansion the likes of which we haven’t seen from the British SUV->ke145 maker. The company’s Range Rover->ke469 brand has always been its meal ticket, but there’s a good chance that it might soon share honors with the Discovery->ke511 and Defender->ke1858 models, each of which is set to expand into its own family of models.

Car Magazine is reporting that that Land Rover is laying the groundwork to create a separate line of models for the Discovery and the Defender, effectively creating three sub-families under the Land Rover name. The British magazine discussed this development with Land Rover’s design director and chief creative officer, Gerry McGovern. According to McGovern, Land Rover is aligning its brands to create three separate families - Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender - with each family having one standout characteristic.

The Range Rover will be a luxury sub-brand, that was established a long time ago. The Discovery, however, will be all about "Leisure," something Land Rover began with the arrival of the sportier-than-usual Discovery Sport, which is apparently taking the place of the Freelander->ke510. Discussions within the company are also on-going regarding the development of the fifth-generation Discovery that was showcased in preview guise by the Discovery Vision Concept at the 2014 New York Auto Show->ke226.

Land Rover will also work on differentiating the Range Rover models from the Discovery models.

Then there’s the Defender. McGovern described it as the dual-purpose sub-brand that will be markedly different from the Range and Discovery brands. Don’t expect the new lineup of Defenders to be similar in aesthetics to its brothers, as these models will retain the same utilitarian character best associated with the roots of Land Rover. McGovern specifically pointed to the importance of having multiple Defender models, largely because it’s the brand that will cater to traditional fans of Land Rover.

“The Defender is about durability,” McGovern told Car. “You kick the hell out of them and they get up for more.”

Click past the jump to read more about Land Rover's future plans.

Why It Matters

You can make a case that this is Land Rover's definition of expansion but to be quite honest, it sounds a lot bigger than that. We're not just talking about adding new models here; we're talking about creating new families that will give birth to multiple new models. See the difference there?

If Land Rover can pull this of -- and there's no reason for it not to -- we might be looking at one of the boldest moves the company has made in its long and illustrious history.

We're definitely rooting for this to happen.

Land Rover Discovery Sport

When the Land Rover Discovery Sport was officially unveiled, many wondered whether the model was actually a Range Rover that only had a Discovery badge slapped onto it. But this is the dawn of a new age for Land Rover, and the first taste of that was showcased with a Discovery Sport that's about as visually stunning as we could have ever expected.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport will be powered by the same turbocharged, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that is under the hood of the Evoque. That means you can expect the output to be 240 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. This powerful four-cylinder is mated to a ZF nine-speed automatic transmission.

With this drivetrain in place, the new Discover Sport should be able to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds and hit a top speed of 124 mph.