News: Land Rover unveils Range Rover Sport SVR, its most powerful car ever
The Range Rover Sport just got sportier
LAND ROVER has released the first undisguised pictures of its fastest, most powerful car ever.
The range-topping Range Rover Sport SVR can manage a sprint from 0 to 60mph in just 4.5sec – the same as a Porsche 911 Carrera S – thanks to its 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine, which produces a brutal 542bhp and 501lb ft.
The SVR’s top speed is electronically limited to 162mph.
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Land Rover says the new Sport is handy round corners, too, having lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in a claimed 8min 14secs.
That makes it one of the quickest production SUVs around the “Green Hell”; by comparison, in 2010, a Supercharged Range Rover Sport lapped the circuit in 8min 55secs.
As the video above proves, the soundtrack isn’t bad, either. The Range Rover Sport SVR is equipped with a two-stage active exhaust featuring electronically controlled valves, leading to that fabulous guttural roar. It’s not purely a vanity update, though – Land Rover says it also improves the performance without damaging the engine’s smoothness while cruising.
The Range Rover Sport is the first car to feature the SVR badge, which stands for Special Vehicle Racing. High performance versions of other Land Rovers and Jaguars will also carry the label in future.
The SVR uses the current Range Rover Sport’s all-aluminium chassis, which is lighter by 39% compared with its predecessor, along with upgraded air suspension and permanent four-wheel drive, which feeds torque evenly between the front and rear wheels.
Indicating this isn’t just a car for the race track, a low-range transmission option helps on more demanding terrain, while Land Rover’s “Wade Sensing” water depth sensor means braver owners should be able to avoid inadvertently turning their SVR into a submarine.
The Range Rover Sport SVR is set to make its global debut at Pebble Beach on Thursday. Customer orders can be placed from October at an on-the-road price of £93,450, and first deliveries are expected in early 2015.
