LRLife.co.uk

To be completely honest, I have never liked the term SUV. Sports Utility Vehicle. It’s the word Sports. Traditionally SUV were anything but Sporty. Most, in fact, quite the opposite. However, despite this, every major automotive company now has a Performance SUV in its portfolio. But where did it all start. In modern terms the first true performance SUV was perhaps the Porsche Cayenne Turbo. With looks only a mother could love, the Porsche did seem to have the ability to rewrite the laws of physics. However, whilst it was the catalyst for the modern performance off roader, it wasn’t the first. Back in the 1980’s Lamborghini put the monstrous V12 from the Countach into a Miliary style vehicle called the LM-002. Nicknamed the Rambo Lambo, it was certainly ahead of its time, but I still don’t think this was genesis. We are after all Land Rover Life, so as you might have guessed, I believe the origins of the performance SUV lie closer to home. The Range Rover.

Below – This sorry looking Range Rover Classic is the Overfinch Prototype vehicle and used to have the number plate 64SPL

Ok, saying the Range Rover was the first true performance SUV is a stretch, however, blend it with a 5.7 litre American V8 and call it an Overfinch and you can now see where I am coming from. I can recall many years ago a certain TV presenter turned farmer reviewing one. He was impressed as I remember. To demonstrate just how fast this beast was he decided to race it against a run of the mill Ford Focus. At this point you may be thinking, if you were being honest, that that’s not too much of a challenge but there was a catch. The Overfinch had a car trailer attached, and on it was another run of the mill Ford Focus. During the drag race the Range Rover was victorious despite the additional weight.

The good thing about the Overfinch Range Rover was it that it wasn’t overtly shouty. Different wheels, subtle badging and a vent in the front wing was all that could give it away. To most people it was just another Range Rover, and for that I will always hanker after one.

Above – Land Rover had never really done full on concept vehicles before. The Range Stormer was the first and hinted at the direction of the soon to be introduced Range Rover Sport.

Land Rover finally got on board the performance SUV market in 2005 with the introduction of the Ranger Rover Sport. Whilst most sold were the turbo diesel version, it could be had with the 390 bhp Jaguar supercharged V8, and this made it quite fun and could hit 62 mph in just over 7 seconds. The idea of a sporty Range Rover first appeared as the Range Stormer concept vehicle in 2004, and with its orange palette it certainly stood out.

Next was the Range Rover Sport SVR. A full on 5-litre Supercharged V8 giving 550 PS and a top speed of 162 mph. The rasp from the engine was downright rude, and you would often hear one before you saw it. For the last few years of production, the SVR was given a power hike. Now with 575 PS, your SVR could now reach 174 mph and hit 60 mph in little over 4 seconds. This was now performance car territory indeed.

Above – The factory fit scouped bonnet shows us this is a later 575 PS version.

With offerings from Lotus, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, AMG, Porsche and even Ferrari all available, Land Rover needed to up their game in the performance SUV market and that, they certainly did. Launched in 2022, the new Range Rover sport followed in the footsteps of the L460 Range Rover. At launch the most potent version was the P530, and whilst it was no slouch (It had the same 0 to 60 time as the last SVR) it wasn’t a halo vehicle. For that we had to wait until 2023, when the Range Rover Sport SV was launched. With the same 600 + PS engine as the BMW M5, this 4.4 litre twin turbo V8 monster would hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and would reach 180 mph, making it the fastest production vehicle Land Rover has ever produced. Carbon wheels and Ceramic brakes are all available and are the stuff of supercars, not mud pluggers. It’s hard to imagine anyone taking one off road, although with the right tyres I am sure it is very capable. With EV’s just around the corner, the days of big V8 engines are numbered. Whilst we know EV’s can also be very quick off the line, the soundtrack isn’t as visceral as a V8, and in years to come I will look back and miss that V8 soundtrack.

Below – The latest Range Rover Sport SV brought performance car technology to Land Rover with the option ceramic brakes and 23″ carbon fibre wheels as seen below.