Hardcore Land Rover Discovery SVX coming

Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) has begun working on its third model after the Range Rover SVR and Jaguar F-TYPE SVR, based on the Discovery SUV.

Likely to be called the Discovery SVX, the new flagship of next year's all-new Land Rover Discovery will have more power but, instead of focusing on Nurburgring lap times like SVO's SVR models, the new SVX will offer owners extreme off-road capability.

In fact, when the SVO-developed Disco SVX goes on sale sometime in 2018, with the absence of a Defender replacement in the line-up, the Discovery SVX will be the most capable off-road vehicle Land Rover sells.

Based on the all-new Discovery 5 that will be unveiled later this year, the tough SVX version is set to arrive 12-18 months later, says Brit mag Autocar, which broke the story.

Originally, it was thought SVO might develop another fast SUV developed with a bias towards on-road performance and handling, but the Range Rover SVR and upcoming Jaguar F-PACE have forced a different approach.

In the future, SVO-developed Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will focus on ‘luxury’, ‘performance’ or ‘capability’, with the new ‘SVX’ trim falling into the latter.

Speaking to Autocar, SVO boss John Edwards refused to confirm the Discovery SVX is the next vehicle on the way from the performance division, but added:

“Land Rover is all about bandwidth. What we have done over 65 years is broaden the breadth of capability of our vehicles. We have taken the opportunity with the Sport SVR to go right, and SVX gives us a chance to go left. It’s clear that a result of that will be that the Land Rover proposition will benefit overall — we will be amplifying the core brand values.”

According to an insider close to the British car-maker, the new SVX will rely on new mechanical and technological innovation to enhance its off-road abilities.

That could include using laser depth-sensing devises, remote-control driving and the ‘virtual’ windscreen that uses cameras to project an unimpeded view ahead, helping you ‘see through’ the bonnet while off-road.

Edwards says the new Discovery SVX’s core markets will be the Middle East and the US, plus countries with extreme terrains like South Africa and Australia.

The SVO boss said early on the business case for SVX models was trickier to justify compared to the usual luxury or performance-enhanced SUV, but said that “from an emotional perspective it is pressing that we do an SVX”.

If successful, it’s thought the ‘SVX’ tag could be used for the most extreme off-road versions of the Discovery Sport and future Defender replacement.