NEW 2024 Range Rover Sport SV: 626 bhp flagship takes JLR into new territory

Land Rover’s latest apex predator has Lamborghini and Bentley in its crosshairs. Boasting record-breaking performance figures - and a high-tech chassis to boot - does the SV live up to its £180,000 price tag?

Although it would be a stretch to call any 2.5 tonne, quad-exhaust tipped, carbon fibre wheel wearing SUV a wolf in sheep’s clothing, compared to the outgoing SVR this new Rangie is certainly a little less conspicuous about its immense performance potential.

Where that raucous old SVR was unapologetically adorned with two tone paint and deep bonnet louvres, the new car is more aligned with Land Rover's recent reductive design agenda.

Slightly subtler hints allude to the SV’s athletic nature. Look closely and you’ll notice carbon fibre detailing on the Range Rover script and grille surround, optional carbon ceramic brake discs hiding behind new carbon wheels (both firsts for a Range Rover) and even a slight reduction in ride height compared to the regular Range Rover Sport.

Fear not though, Land Rover hasn’t sanitised the performance to match the grown-up styling. Under the bonnet, a new and slightly downsized 4.4 BMW turbo V8, outguns the old Jag unit by over 80 horsepower.

The net result is the fastest and most powerful Range Rover in history. If 3.6 seconds to 60 doesn’t set your pulse racing, then the 180-mph top speed certainly will.

In days gone by, it was at this point that the engineers would call it a day and go home - leaving an SUV with speedboat performance, but oil tanker handling. Such criticism can’t be leveled at the new SV though.

Working tirelessly to tune the innovative 6D air suspension with hydraulic damping, Land Rover’s crack, Special Vehicle Operations team, have crafted a chassis set-up that many supercar marques would be jealous of. Combine this with a new faster steering rack, all-wheel steering and torque vectoring by braking, and the new SV should handle as deftly as many cars half its size and weight.

Interestingly, this cutting-edge chassis has been paired with Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tyres* (you might expect a summer compound given the car’s astounding on-road ability) however, Land Rover were adamant that the SV should retain the off-road prowess that the company is so renowned for – a detachable front splitter further reinforces this notion.

When you’re finished playing with the sportscar destroying performance, and crawling over treacherous rocky terrain, the SV can do the luxury limo stuff just as easily too. All the usual Range Rover creature comforts are present and correct, with the addition of some SV exclusives, most notably: the revolutionary ‘Body and Soul’ seat, which was developed in collaboration with Coventry University and utilises transducers to reduce stress levels in the cabin.

Given the current, unrelenting march towards a fully electrified future, it is likely the SV will be one of the final swansongs for the absurdly powerful, petrol-powered super-SUV. And, given the £180,000 asking price, Land Rover clearly wants it to go out with a bang. Hard luck if you were hoping to be a part of this last hoorah though, the SV has already sold out!

*While this tyre is designated as an all season tyre for the US market, it does not carry the 3PMSF marking and so would not be classified as a true all season tyre in Europe*.