Carsales Staff•14 Nov 2014
NEWS
Land Rover SVO to build extreme Rangie
Lara Croft will have to wait for her next Defender; Range Rover customers expect to come firstA UK publication has reported that Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) is open to the idea of extreme off-road modifications across the range.
The managing director of SVO, John Edwards, told Auto Express that the Jaguar Land Rover tuning division was not going to be bound by a perception it was just another performance arm.
"There are four different types of cars we want to do at SVO," Edwards was quoted saying in the report.
"There are on-road performance cars, all-terrain performance cars that we haven't done so far, luxury derivatives and what we're calling collector's editions, like the Project 7.
"On-road performance is fairly easy; you just think about 'M' and 'AMG' and think how can we apply the same thinking? All-terrain is slightly different; clearly much more appropriate for Land Rover than Jaguar. Land Rover has that all-terrain capability built into all its products, but we need to give customers the permission to use it."
Speaking with British journalists during the introduction of a Holland & Holland edition of the Range Rover (pictured), Edwards suggested that off-road mods would aim to make the fettled Land Rovers more "abusable rather than too precious".
"For example, the material for the seats; it's leather versus a material that's very durable and very hi-tech. It's about ground clearance, it's about wheel and tyre combinations, it's about underbody protection, because actually the capability of the cars is class-leading anyway in most cases."
Contrary to our speculation SVO might first turn its hand to a Camel Trophy-style Defender, Edwards indicated that the matter is currently the subject of internal debate, but hinted that the flagship Range Rover might be the inaugural 'Land Rover's Land Rover'.
"It's clearly going to be more obvious on a Defender than a Range Rover, but in a funny way there's more of an opportunity on a Range Rover," he said.
"When we did the G4 Challenge five or six years ago, there was a strong but niche demand for a G4 Challenge Range Rover. We never thought there would be, but there was. A car that has the roof rack, lights, tyres and underbody protection. There really are people who want to use the car for what it's designed for."
In contrast with all this mud-plugging, rock-hopping talk, the Holland & Holland edition Range Rover is said by the company to be the "most luxurious, and most expensive, Range Rover ever".
Production is limited to just 40 units a year for the next three years, and the vehicle is based on the Range Rover Autobiography black. Buyers will be offered two powerplants, the 4.4-litre turbo-diesel V8 and the 5.0-litre supercharged petrol V8. The long-wheelbase cars will be equipped with an 'Executive Class' seating package featuring soft tan and espresso leather, complemented by French walnut veneer. An aluminium load space cabinet, embroidery, and engraved centre console and door pulls are stand-out features.
Tags
Land Rover
Car News
SUV
4x4 Offroad Cars
Performance Cars
Prestige Cars
Written byCarsales Staff
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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