Revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Discovery SVX, Land Rover’s “extreme” version of the still-new Discovery, has received much attention in the media. With its supercharged V8 producing over 500 horsepower, the Discovery SVX happens to be the most powerful Land Rover currently available.
The SVX designation began in 2008 as a limited production Defender model, and part of Land Rover’s 60th anniversary celebration. The SVX Defender featured a stylized roll cage, distinctive, larger wheels, and Land Rover’s Ford-derived 2.4 liter 4 cylinder ‘Puma’ turbo diesel.
Now, the JLR bosses are dropping hints that SVX will return with the upcoming new Defender model line as well. Head of design head Gerry McGovern also indicated that while a Discovery Sport SVX is also a possibility, a Range Rover version is not in the works.
And also regarding the new Defender, McGovern dropped a cryptic-sounding remark, perhaps a hint that new Defender may not be offered in such stripped-down, utilitarian form as the Defender and the original Land Rovers before it. “We have to stop thinking about function in a durable way. When you’re buying into the brand, you’re buying a premium product.”
The 2019 Land Rover Defender will most likely be built at a Land Rover plant in Slovakia. That plant, in Nitra, has been confirmed as the site for production of two different aluminum-bodied SUVs. One of them is the Discovery, and the other is rumored to be the all-new Defender.
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