Simply unnecessary vehicle? Land Rover unveils excessive Range Rover Sport SVR

We’re all for advancements in automotive technology here at Motorburn, but it seems the Land Rover employees got a bit overexcited at the prospect of building their next performance SUV. The latest Range Rover Sport SVR, as a result, is the most powerful and fastest production Land Rover ever thought of, let alone built.

It definitely has the “Sports” part of the SUV acronym down, with 550-horsepower churned from the supercharged 5.o-litre V8 engine, flinging the boat-sized SUV to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds and on to a 261km/h top speed.

According to engineers however, it may not set any offroad speed records anytime soon, but its a capable mud masher, boasting low-range transmission, adjustable air suspension and an electronic terrain response system, which intelligently moderates drive according to grip levels. A new technology, simply dubbed Wade Sensing, alerts the occupants how deep the car’s toes are in a particularly large puddle (of up to 850mm).

But with all these offroad technologies, it’s not something a buyer would (willingly) take offroad, especially since it will cost £93 450 in the UK.

Ironically, it’s on track performance is where it shines. It lapped the Nurburgring Nordschliefe in 8:14, a time that embarrasses many a performance sedan. It can also be fitted with 22-inch alloy wheels, shod with performance Continental tyres, which will undoubtedly please Xzibit greatly.

John Edwards, MD of Land Rover’s Special Ops, is expecting quite a diverse customer base.

“The Range Rover Sport SVR is a natural progression beyond the core vehicle’s outstanding on- and off-road capabilities and leading-edge design. Its exhilarating performance will satisfy a particularly demanding customer set.”

While the Sport SVR is undoubtedly the flagship, parading the Range Rover brand as a fully all-purpose, high-performance SUV capable of venturing into the bush, we wonder how many vehicles Jaguar Land Rover will actually ship, or how much mud will come into contact with an SVR badge in the future. SUVs may be relevant in the world of tech, but they’re ultimately unnecessary in motoring.

For those willing to explore the tarmac or gravel playgrounds, the Range Rover Sport SVR goes on sale after it’s Pebble Beach launch, on 14 August.