2015 Range Rover Sport SVR | new car sales price

New high-performance Range Rover Sport SVR to arrive in May. 

Land Rover’s fastest model ever will soon arrive in Australia, aiming to tempt customers away from existing German performance SUVs like the BMW X5 M and Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

Priced from $218,500, the new Range Rover Sport SVR is the first Jaguar Land Rover product to come from the recently established Special Vehicle Operations team, which is similar to Mercedes’ in-house tuning experts AMG or BMW's M GmbH. 

Powered by the same 404kW/680Nm 5.0-litre supercharged V8 as the stunning Jaguar F-Type R sports car, the SVR’s motor packs an additional 30kW and 55Nm over the regular supercharged V8 Range Rover Sport. 

With an active sports exhaust system with electronically controlled valves which open under heavy throttle or at around 3000rpm, the SVR should also sound just as naughty as its Jaguar sports car cousin.

The newcomer can complete the 0-100km/h run in 4.7 seconds and go onto a limited top speed of 260km/h, while combined fuel consumption is 12.8L/100km – the same as the standard petrol V8 model. 

The eight-speed ZF torque converter automatic transmission with paddles is carried over from the standard car, but software tweaks have decreased shift times by up to 50 per cent. 

The Special Vehicle Operations team have also reworked the chassis and four-wheel drive system to give better on-road dynamics without compromising the car’s capability on rough terrain. 

Up to 100 per cent of the V8’s torque can be sent to either axle, and the rear locking differential has been enhanced by a brake-based torque vectoring system. 

The SVR also gets 20 per cent stiffer rear subframe bushes, hydraulic anti-roll bars and a modified air-suspension system with continuously variable adaptive dampers.

Despite the new model’s sporting intentions, the ride height hasn’t been changed so the Sport’s best in-class 850mm wading depth with up to 272mm suspension travel remains.

The standard wheel and tyre package includes 21-inch alloys wrapped in 275/45 all-season tyres, while a more road-focused setup with 22-inch hoops wearing 295/40 Continental performance tyres is available – you won’t be able to match the SVR’s impressive 8 minute 14 second Nurburgring lap time without them. 

The hi-po Range Rover also features a number of bespoke body panels and interior pieces that differentiate it from the less performance focused variants, including more aggressive front and rear bumpers, quad exhaust tips and sports bucket seats inside. 

The SVR’s most direct rival is the 383kW $230,800 Porsche Cayenne Turbo, which it undercuts on price but the Range Rover uses more fuel and isn’t as accelerative as the Porsche which can hit 100km/h in 4.5 seconds. 

The new Range Rover Sport SVR goes on sale locally in around three months time in May.