There's a new Range Rover Sport in town. It's the most powerful Range Rover ever, and it has carbon ceramic brakes on the options list. The 2024 Range Rover Sport SV is a performance flagship that overshadows updates to the rest of the Range Rover Sport (RRS) lineup that includes a new plug-in hybrid model.
Power for what the company calls "the most powerful and dynamic Range Rover Sport ever" comes from a new 4.4L twin-turbo V8. The new engine also has a 48V mild hybrid system. With 626 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque, the SV has 51 horses and 38 torques more than the last-generation SVR's supercharged 5.0L engine. The new engine can push the RRS from zero to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds to a top speed of 290 km/h.
To help with the performance side of the equation, the SV has add-on aerodynamic enhancements, including a new carbon fibre hood. New 23-inch wheels made from carbon fibre are on the options list, a great way to trim 35 kg from the weight of the SUV. The automaker says the carbon wheels are still up to the same standards for robustness as the metal wheels.
To help the SV stop faster, carbon ceramic brakes are on the options list. They use eight-piston calipers and mark the first time the company has offered carbon brakes on any of its vehicles.
Other performance upgrades include a lower height for the adaptive suspension, plus a track-oriented stability control mode and an SV drive mode that is meant to sharpen the steering, throttle, transmission, and even the exhaust.
For when you can't use all of the horsepower, Range Rover has added some oomph to the seats. It's called Body and Soul Seat (BASS), and it uses some of the 29 speakers to vibrate the seats to make the music feel more immersive.
But you can't actually buy a Range Rover Sport SV, at least not in 2024. For its first model year, Range Rover is offering the SV exclusively as the $236,555 Edition One. All of those models have already been allocated to the brand's existing clients, who were allowed to reserve one ahead of time. If you're not on the list, you can try to reserve one for 2025.
If you're not on the list for the SV, then you might be more interested in the changes to the rest of the lineup. The biggest of those is the new P550e PHEV model.
Paired with a 3.0L inline-six, the P550e's electric motor delivers 542 hp and 590 lb-ft. That's more than a 100-hp increase on last year's P440e PHEV. It still delivers the same 82-km electric range thanks to a large 32.8-kWh battery.
JLR has also improved its infotainment system. The system has a new 13.1-inch floating display that showcases new sidebars and sliders for volume and climate control. The automaker says 80 per cent of tasks are just two taps away, and has added haptic feedback to help make using the system while driving even easier.
There's one last big change, and that's Country Road Assist. This tweak to the adaptive cruise control system uses navigation data to automatically adjust speed for curves in the road and changes to the speed limit.
The 2024 Range Rover Sport lineup is now in dealers. P400 starts from $116,380, with the P550e from $155,560.
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