Those who wanted a Range Rover Sport SV when it launched in 2023 couldn’t just go out and spend their six-figure sum on a super SUV. Because when it was announced, all of the first SVs would be Edition One spec, and they were spoken for - a limited-run version aimed at keeping demand high and residuals buoyant. Certainly it nailed one of those criteria, as enough folk wanted a Sport SV for an Edition Two to follow with a few new ‘curations’ to choose from. Or colours, as they’re also known. Only now, more than 24 months after the SV was released, has the ultimate Range Rover Sport been released as a series production model.
Expect plenty of interest in it, given the SV’s enticing blend of monster performance and sense of occasion. Handles brilliantly, too. For plain old SV against Edition 1 and Edition 2, all the good stuff remains: 635hp, 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, 6D Dynamics chassis, SV drive mode and so on. Top speed is quoted as 165mph, rather than the 180mph seen before, which seems a bit odd - but ought to be sufficient, really.
Not that Range Rover is done with special Sports, of course. Alongside the ready-salted SV at £139,995 also sits the car you see here, the £154,975 Sport SV Black. Because the customer is always right in matters of taste, don’t forget. Unsurprisingly, opting for the more expensive model gets the full ‘Dipped in Black’ treatment - honestly that’s their phrase, not ours - with 23-inch black wheels, black exhaust, black calipers, black treadplates on the sills, black leather, black accents - you get the idea. Apparently it ‘takes sporting attitude to the next level.’ The paint is Narvik Black with a Narvik Gloss Black Exterior Pack. Good luck keeping that clean.
Interestingly, the Black is faster than the standard SV, with 3.6 seconds to 62mph and 180mph quoted against 3.8 and 165. Despite the same power - we’ll try to get to the bottom of that. Between the monochrome version and a regular SV, all tastes ought to be catered for (previously only selected colour combos were possible).
Range Rover’s Global MD Martin Limpert, said: “Range Rover Sport SV Black represents the essence of sporting luxury; a statement of audacious rebellion. We’ve created a vehicle that combines pure power and performance with a gritty, uncompromising attitude that demands attention. Range Rover’s design team has gone beyond anything we’ve offered previously with black packs or options, giving every single exterior and interior element a sophisticated Narvik black treatment; it appears to the eye, as if the vehicle has been dipped in gloss.”
So expect that to be drawing all the crowds at Goodwood as valeters desperately try to get smudges off it. Orders for the new SV range will open later this year; those after one of the original Editions might be pleased to know there are 15 on PH, priced from £130k.
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