Rover Eyes SVR Sport Power Upgrade

History is full of people wanting to make Land Rovers move a little more quickly down the road. Now, Rover Special Vehicles Division is joining their ranks, seeking to add even more power to Land Rovers anything-but-gutless Range Rover Sport SVR model. During the 2016 Geneva Auto Show, Jaguar’s own Special Vehicles division showcased a new, more extreme F-Type, boasting 575 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. Reports in the British media indicate that Land Rover has set its sights on the new Supercharged V8 and wants to use it to build an equally extreme SVR.

Fitting the F-Type SVR’s 5.0-liter V8 into the Range Rover Sport shouldn’t present too much of a challenge as the current Sport SVR uses a de-tuned version of the same engine, with output constrained to a mere 550 horses and “only” 502 lb-ft. of torque. With the more powerful mill the SVR Sport would go 0 to 60 mph in less than 4.5 seconds.

The proposed new variant would still ship with the standard eight-speed autobox with paddle shift and of course, all-wheel drive. Despite its road-bias design, the 2.5 plus-ton Sport SVR will still include Land Rover’s latest Terrain Response system, and air suspension offering up to 9.3 inches of ground clearance.

In conjunction with the new powerplant, the vehicle will get a minor redesign to include a new bumper with marginally bigger air intakes, for funneling air to twin intercoolers, and SVR-specific alloy wheels. Other, non-SVR Range Rover Sports will also undergo some small mechanical and aesthetic changes.