SPY PICS: Range Rover Sport RS
Range Rover keen to capture a slice of the high-performance SUV segment with pumped-up Sport RS variantWith Porsche, BMW’s M and Mercedes-Benz’s AMG racking up tidy profits from flogging go-faster versions of their luxury SUV models, Range Rover has seemingly been missing out on capturing its fair share of the high-po all-terrainer segment.
That’s set to be addressed with an ‘RS’ version of the new Range Rover Sport, which recently debuted at the New York motor show.
Captured here by Automedia, the camouflaged RS prototype is clearly riding lower than the standard Range Rover Sport, and the chunky black rims look to be at least 22-inchers.
The vehicle is fronted by a more aggressive fascia with enlarged air-intakes, but other than this, the RS doesn’t appear to have any major tweaks vis-à-vis the standard Range Rover Sport.
Befitting its performance flagship status, the RS is expected to receive a 405kW/680Nm version of the familiar 5.0-litre supercharged V8 (the standard V8 puts out 375kW/625Nm) – as fitted to the likes of the Jaguar XKR-S and XFR-S.
It’s believed the uprated engine could yield a 0-100km/h in less than five seconds, which could put the Rangie Sport RS in the same ballpark as the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG and BMW X5 M.
There’s as yet no word on when the go-faster Rangie might debut, but it’s possible it will make an appearance at next January’s 2014 Detroit motor show.
As previously reported, the second-generation Range Rover Sport is up to 420kg lighter than its predecessor as a result of adopting the aluminium-intensive architecture that underpins its full-size sibling.
The V8 (and all other engines in the range) is hooked up to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, with drive channelled to the wheels via the latest-gen Terrain Response 2 system.
Range Rover Sport buyers will be offered the choice of two full-time 4WD systems – one with a two-speed transfer case with low-range gearing, and the other with a single-speed transfer case employing a Torsen differential that automatically distributes torque to the axle with most grip.
It’s not yet known whether both these set-ups will be available with the performance-focused RS.
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