Ever since it was launched in 2015, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR has proven to be one of the most powerful, quickest and fastest SUVs. In fact, it was able to complete a lap in the Nurburgring circuit (technically a road) in just 8 minutes and 14 seconds. Only a few SUVs are faster.
When buying a vehicle, one of the many considerations that a possible customer takes into account is how quick it could accelerate from zero to 60 mph or 62 mph (100 km/h). The weight of the vehicle, its output and its torque are the main determining factors.
Usually, this sprint time is measured dynamically, which means all factors have been optimized to favor a quick zoom from standstill on an asphalted track or road. Realistically, a dynamic sprint time applies only partly to vehicles that are expected to be taken off the road – to the grass, gravel and snow, as well as to the mud and sand. It’s because these are low-friction surfaces, and only all-terrain vehicles like the Range Rover Sport SVR are able to remain quick.
This is why Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) has taken more steps to show that the Range Rover Sport SVR is a true all-terrain performer – whether on the road, mud and sand or on the grass, gravel and snow. Serving as the core of the four-wheel drive Range Rover Sport SVR is a 5.0-liter Supercharged Petrol LR-V8 engine -- mated to an eight-speed transmission -- that provides 550 hp of max output and 680 Nm of torque available between 3,500 rpm and 4,000 rpm.
Boosted by Land Rover’s innovative Terrain Response 2 and donning Michelin 275/45 R21 All Season Tires, the Range Rover Sport SVR was taken to different places in and outside the United Kingdom. Terrain Response 2 is a system that automatically picks the appropriate driving mode for the Range Rover Sport SVR -- General Driving, Dynamic, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud and Ruts, Sand, and Rock Crawl.
For the dynamic sprint (asphalt), the Range Rover Sport SVR was taken to the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, UK. Here, the pride of Jaguar Land Rover SVO was able to dash from nil to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds. Then, the Range Rover Sport SVR was driven on a quarry and has managed to achieve a sprint time of 5.3 seconds. As for testing in snow and ice, the Range Rover Sport SVR was flown to Jaguar Land Rover’s winter test facility in Arjeplog, Sweden where the all-terrain SUV managed to accelerate in dire winter conditions in just 11.3 seconds.
As for mud and ruts, the Range Rover Sport SVR returned to the UK, where it was tested at one of Land Rover’s all-terrain testing facilities. There, the Range Rover Sport SVR accelerated from nil to 100 km/h in only 6.5 seconds.
Another test was done on the Pendine Sands at Carmarthen Bay in South Wales, where the Range Rover Sport SVR cruised from standstill to 100 km/h on the sands in only 5.5 seconds. In another testing facility, the Range Rover Sport SVR was made to tackle a rocky 32 percent incline – a feat it managed to achieve with ease.
Given all these real-world figures, Range Rover Sport SVR – thanks to the Terrain Response 2 technology – could truly be considered as an all-terrain performer.