By Moses Akaigwe
New Range Rover Sport redefines sporting luxury, effortlessly combining assertive and instinctive on-road performance with trademark Range Rover refinement, progressive design sophistication and connected convenience. The third-generation model is the most desirable, advanced and dynamically capable yet.
A suite of powerful and efficient powertrains includes a six-cylinder extended range Electric Hybrid, a potent new V8 and six-cylinder petrol and diesel Ingenium engines. Pure-electric propulsion will be introduced in 2024, as Land Rover continues its electrification journey.
New Range Rover Sport is available in S, SE, HSE and Autobiography specifications, with a First Edition available throughout the first year of production featuring a specially curated specification.
Thierry Bolloré, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “The exceptional New Range Rover Sport sets new standards as the ultimate sporting luxury SUV, building on seventeen years of unique customer appeal. It is the latest embodiment of our vision to create the world’s most desirable modern luxury vehicles, effortlessly blending new levels of sustainability with the signature qualities that have made Range Rover Sport so popular.”
Design in detail
The sophisticated exterior is unmistakably Range Rover Sport with taut surfacing, a dynamic stance and instantly recognisable profile, perfectly accentuated by stealth-like detailing and muscular proportions – giving the impression the vehicle is poised and ready.
Dramatic proportions accentuate the Range Rover Sport’s distinctive character, with short overhangs, an assertive front-end and steeply raked glazing at the front and back. These trademark elements provide a strong and imposing road presence that communicate power and performance.
The sculpted exterior is detailed with exquisite finishes such as a stealth-like front grille and Digital LED lighting units, which create a distinctive Daytime Running Light (DRL) signature. The eye-catching designs, the slimmest ever fitted to a Land Rover, sit above a sculpted, double-aperture lower bumper that incorporates a horizontal bisecting body-colour element that creates greater visual width, enhanced by black detailing.
Perfectly honed design elements are echoed at the rear, incorporating a sculpted tailgate with a full-width feature bearing the Range Rover script. Uninterrupted LED light graphics introduce surface LED technology to a production vehicle for the first time, providing a crisp and contemporary look at night that is vivid and consistent when viewed from any angle. A characteristic shoulder line runs the length of the vehicle, accentuated by new lower fender details and the longest spoiler ever fitted to a Range Rover.
Prof Gerry McGovern OBE, Chief Creative Officer, Range Rover, said: “Our latest range Rover Sport embraces fully our modernist approach of vehicle design whilst amplifying its unquestionable sporting and confident character.”
New Range Rover Sport’s reductive design extends to its all-new interior, which features the trademark Range Rover Command Driving Position, the latest technologies and the finest materials, which combine for a compelling balance of sartorial elegance and visceral desire. The cockpit-like cabin sets the tone for the dynamic driving experience, providing excellent visibility while simultaneously cocooning the driver with a high, sloping centre console and intuitive technologies.
Engaging on every journey
New Range Rover Sport introduces more advanced chassis technologies than ever before, providing a comprehensive dynamic toolkit for the most engaging and dynamically capable driving experience.
The inherent stiffness and strength of the flexible mixed-metal architecture (MLA-Flex) – which provides up to 35 percent higher torsional stiffness than the previous Range Rover Sport – lays the foundations for this technology. It harmoniously works with a suite of systems governed by the Integrated Chassis Control system – all specially tuned for New Range Rover Sport.
Nick Collins, Executive Director Vehicle Programmes, Jaguar Land Rover, said:“Land Rover’s pioneering flexible MLA architecture and the latest chassis systems come together to deliver the highest levels of dynamism we’ve ever seen on Range Rover Sport. Integrated Chassis Control governs the comprehensive suite of innovations, co-ordinating everything from the latest switchable-volume air suspension system to our Dynamic Response Pro electronic active roll control. The result is the most engaging and thrilling Range Rover Sport ever.”
New Dynamic Response Pro works hand-in-hand with the latest generation Dynamic Air Suspension, which introduces switchable-volume air springs for the first time. Dynamic Response Pro provides ultimate roll control via a 48-volt electronic active roll control system, capable of applying up to 1,400Nm of torque across each axle, for a confidence-inspiring driving experience and new levels of body control and cornering composure.
Dynamic Air Suspension is fitted to every New Range Rover Sport and the intelligent system enhances the bandwidth of the suspension. This works by varying the pressure within the chambers (higher pressure provides stiffer damping) to deliver traditional Range Rover comfort with the dynamic handling expected from the Range Rover Sport. To optimise responses, the vehicle monitors the road ahead using eHorizon navigation data to pre-emptively prime for upcoming bends.
Adaptive Dynamics 2 technology contributes to dynamic capability by continuously controlling the Active Twin Valve Dampers to reduce unwanted body movements. It monitors external factors up to 500 times per second to deliver the perfect responses and, in harmony with the other chassis technologies, delivers the most precise and composed driving dynamics of any Range Rover Sport.
New Range Rover Sport’s cornering agility is taken to a new level with All-Wheel Steering, Torque Vectoring by Braking and the Electronic Active Differential. All-Wheel Steering provides rear-wheel steering of up to 7.3 degrees out of phase with the front wheels to achieve enhanced agility and manoeuvrability at low speeds, while turning in-phase for superior stability at high speeds. This gives New Range Rover Sport the turning circle of a hatchback and on-road agility of a much smaller car.
Epitome of sporting luxury
New Range Rover Sport makes every journey an event. It can be honed to be as dynamically engaging as the driver desires, while offering enhanced levels of refinement and comfort. This ability to combine dual characters, offering heightened luxury and driver-focused engagement, is made possible by a comprehensive set of technologies and features.
Providing the perfect foundation for an engaging and supportive journey are 22-way adjustable, heated and ventilated electric memory front seats with massage function and winged headrests. The flagship seats provide the ultimate support for longer journeys and involving drives on winding roads, while rear passengers benefit from ergonomically optimised seat geometry, with a 31mm increase in legroom and 20mm greater knee clearance, for greater comfort and support.
Next-generation Cabin Air Purification Pro is available to create and maintain the perfect driving environment. It combines PM2.5 filtration and nanoeTM X technology to significantly reduce odours, bacteria and allergens, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus4. A second nanoeTM X device is fitted to the second row to provide consistent air quality throughout the cabin. An advanced CO2 Management function allows owners to purify the cabin before a journey, or while they are driving – ensuring increased alertness for every drive, and enhanced wellbeing for all occupants.
Powerful Meridian audio options are available, and the Meridian Signature Sound System is the most advanced and powerful audio system ever fitted to a Range Rover Sport. It presents an enveloping sound experience using 29 speakers, a new subwoofer and up to 1,430W of amplifier power – including four headrest speakers that enable those travelling in the four main seats of the vehicle to experience personal sound zones.
Seamless technology
Land Rover’s powerful Electrical Vehicle Architecture (EVA 2.0) supports an ecosystem of seamless connected technologies, including Software Over The Air (SOTA). The clever technology provides remote updates for 63 electronic modules, ensuring New Range Rover Sport remains at the cutting edge of innovation, modern technology and services throughout its life.
Alex Heslop, Director of Electrical Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover, said:“Living with the New Range Rover Sport couldn’t be easier thanks to its suite of connected technologies. Our award-winning Pivi Pro infotainment is at the heart of the experience and its haptic, curved floating touchscreen provides intuitive control of the vehicle systems. To help drivers maintain their focus, embedded Amazon Alexa voice AI is on hand, so customers can keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel while doing anything from setting the navigation and placing calls to selecting media sources.”
The award-winning Pivi Pro infotainment features a high resolution floating 13.1-inch curved touchscreen positioned at the centre of the modernist dashboard. Controlling everything from navigation to media and vehicle settings, it learns the user’s habits and intelligently personalises the onboard experience, becoming a truly intuitive personal assistant.
Electrified performance
A comprehensive line-up of powertrains deliver customary Range Rover Sport performance. The South African range will include an extended range Electric Hybrid, six-cylinder Ingenium petrol and diesel options, and an all-new V8 Twin Turbo. In 2024, the New Range Rover Sport line-up will evolve with the addition of a fully electric model.
The new P510e Electric Hybrid is engineered to meet the demands of drivers looking for a high-performance drive, impressive efficiency and more than 100km of zero emissions EV range. It seamlessly blends Land Rover’s 3.0-litre six-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine with a powerful 105kW electric motor and 38.2kWh battery, producing a total system output of 375kW.
It is capable of 0-100km/h in just 5.4 seconds, an electric driving range of up to 113km and an expected real-world range of 88km – enough for most owners to complete up to 75 percent of journeys on electric power5 – and CO2 emissions of just 18g/km1. For longer journeys, the plug-in hybrid powertrain provides combined 740km of petrol and electric range.
Peerless capability
New Range Rover Sport is the most dynamically capable version of Land Rover’s luxury performance SUV ever, and the most competent away from paved roads. Intelligent All-Wheel Drive (iAWD) integrates with the latest all-terrain innovations and technologies to ensure its breadth of dynamic capability.
Rory O’Murchu, Vehicle Line Director, Jaguar Land Rover, said:“New Range Rover Sport’s advanced chassis dynamics feed into its immense capability away from the tarmac, utilising its hardware and software to full effect. It is the first vehicle to feature our new Adaptive Off-Road Cruise Control, which has been engineered to help drivers focus on steering the vehicle by providing consistent and comfortable progress across rough terrain.”
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New Range Rover Sport will be exclusively produced at the Solihull Manufacturing Facility in the UK alongside New Range Rover, on a state-of-the-art production line housed in the same building used to produce early Series Land Rovers. The historic location is the spiritual home of Land Rover and its reimagining as a new, ultra-modern centre for Range Rover and Range Rover Sport production epitomises the way the company protects and celebrates its unique heritage.
The New Range Rover Sport is expected to be available towards the end of 2022 or early 2023, and will arrive Nigeria through the Jaguar Land Rover distributor in the local market, Coscharis Motors Plc.