New Range Rover Sport SVR to return with 460kW V8

Land Rover's all-new Range Rover Sport SVR is primed for a huge power boost to help it fend off rivals like the Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

Set for a 2023 debut, the next-generation Range Rover Sport will dump the current model's Jaguar Land Rover supercharged 5.0-litre AJ-V8 in favour of BMW M's 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged S63 V8.

Under the new Range Rover Sport's bonnet, the BMW M powertrain will pump out at least 460kW and 750Nm of torque – as seen in the current BMW X6 M – which should easily see the big super-SUV's 0-100km/h time shrink to less than 4.3 seconds (down from the current model's 4.5sec).

Top speed, meanwhile, is expected to climb from 283km/h to around 300km/h.

As well as being both quicker and faster than the decade-old outgoing model, the third-gen Range Rover Sport should also bring big benefits when it comes to driving dynamics.

Based on Land Rover's latest MLA Flex architecture, the new Sport will benefit from a 50 per cent increase in torsional rigidity, providing a better platform to attach a more sophisticated suspension system that will lead to improvements both on- and off-road.

Soon after the new Rangie Sport's launch, in 2024 or early 2025 Land Rover will also introduce a full all-electric version that will also borrow components from BMW.

Primed to share a development of the BMW iX M60's powertrain, the pure-electric Range Rover Sport should produce 455kW of power and a thumping 1015Nm of torque (1100Nm in launch control).

Despite being bigger than the BMW iX, the next Range Rover Sport's aluminium-intensive construction could see it undercut the German electric SUV's hefty 2440kg unladen kerb weight.

If so, the big EV could beat the M60's swift 3.8sec claimed 0-100km/h time, although its top speed is expected to be limited to 250km/h.

Another area where the 2024 Range Rover Sport EV might usurp the iX is range. Currently, BMW says its 115kWh lithium-ion battery (105.2kWh useable) provides for up to 566km between top-ups, while a recharge rate of up to 200kW sees charging levels lifted from 10 to 80 per cent in just 35 minutes.

Despite having the edge on its combustion-powered sibling, according to Autocar the EV's reign as the performance pick of the new Ranger Rover Sport line-up will be short-lived.

Soon after its introduction, incoming Euro 7 emission regs will force Land Rover to drop the twin-turbo V8 from the line-up and replace it with a plug-in hybrid powertrain based around the same 4.4-litre BMW V8, which is currently being developed for the next-gen BMW M5.

BMW's plug-in hybrid V8 powertrain is expected to match the recent BMW Concept XM electric SUV for power and torque.

Expect the Range Rover SVR to produce then produce a staggering 550kW/1000Nm thanks to the combination of the petrol V8 and a single large electric motor.

With outputs like that, it's feasible the plug-in SVR could launch to 100km/h in around 3.5 seconds and top out at almost 320km/h.

Slashing emissions, the Rangie Sport SVR PHEV flagship should also offer a pure-electric range of up to 100km.

If you're wondering what will happen to Jaguar Land Rover's supercharged 5.0-litre AJ-V8, which was built by Ford until 2019 when the British car-maker took production in-house, it will live on under the bonnet of both the Land Rover Defender and the Jaguar F-PACE SVR, as well as upcoming special projects produced by the car-maker's SVO division.

The main reasons JLR is dropping the existing 423kW supercharged V8 are its prodigious thirst and high emissions. Despite producing more power, the twin-turbo BMW V8 is said to be 17 per cent more efficient than the old V8.

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