Range Rover Sport SV is the Most Powerful Rangey Ever Built

Horsepower and SUVs can be a wicked combination when done right; witness any number of hi-po German and, increasingly, Italian machinery which somehow successfully combine high centres of gravity and outlandish acceleration numbers.

The new Range Rover Sport SV takes the concept and cranks its wick to 626 horsepower, meaning this Rangey is capable of hitting 60 mph from rest in just 3.6 seconds.

Under the hood bonnet is a 4.4L twin-turbo V8 engine belting out those 626 ponies plus 553 lb.-ft of torque, numbers which are 51 and 38 more than what was found in the brand’s supercharged 5.0L V8 installed in rigs like the last-gen Range Rover Sport SVR. This mill is paired with the mildest of hybrids and an eight-speed automatic. Lightweight carbon ceramic Brembos are an option for whoa’ing things up in a hurry, paired with eight-piston clampers the size of bread loaves.

We don’t normally pay much mind to wheel-and-tire combinations on these types of rigs, but a particular set of optional hoops on this Range Rover Sport SV are worth a mention. Sized at an outrageous 23 inches, these split five-spoke units are hewn from carbon fiber and shave roughly 20 pounds of weight per corner, taking a total of 78 pounds from the equation when compared to conventional cast alloys of the same diameter. Depending on drive mode selected, the SV can sit about an inch lower than other Range Rover Sport models. All this will surely look good in the parking lot of Twickenham.

The SV is, as you’d expect, packed with luxury features such as sumptuous upholstery and acres of touchscreen technology. An item which stands out is one bearing the incredulous title of Body and Soul Seats, which can also be bastardized to the acronym of BASS. Described as a multi-dimensional audio experience in which front seat passengers are immersed in the car’s audio, it uses software and transducers aligned to the backs of front seat occupants to analyze whatever’s being cranked out of the stereo and generate hi-fi audio vibrations. It is presumably far more sophisticated than a simple set of subwoofer ‘butt thumpers’, working in concert with the 29-speaker sound system which is capable of cranking out 1,430 watts.

Other items to help make the SV stand apart from the peasants include different front fascia details, quad-tip active exhaust, carbon fiber exterior trim details, and the likes of shifter paddles whose edges are not only translucent but also illuminated. Purists weep into their cuppa.

[Image: Land Rover]

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