Photo: CarPix
On the market since 2013, the second-generation Range Rover Sport is due a mid-cycle facelift. Cue the 2017 Range Rover Sport, a more athletic and more technologically advanced mid-size luxury SUV than the current model.
Despite the fact that sales are going stronger and stronger with each and every year (87,319 units in 2015, 82,440 units in 2014), Range Rover knows that the Sport will get left behind if the manufacturer were to postpone the mid-cycle update for later. On the outside, the biggest change brought by the refreshed Sport is represented by the frowning face that boasts a multi-strip honeycomb grille and vertical air intakes located at the sides of the bumper.
If you squint your eyes a little, you could confuse the regular Range Rover Sport facelift with the high-performance Sport SVR. Look closer and you’ll observe that the SVR doesn’t have blades integrated into the air intakes. Neither the side profile nor the rear end reveal anything remotely new about the mid-sized sport utility vehicle. Don’t be disappointed, though, because this is but an early test mule, not the production-ready Range Rover Sport.
The photograph of the interior reveals the same steering wheel, HVAC unit, door panels, and air vents as before. The infotainment system is the most obvious change here. Provided that you can ignore the duct tape used to mask the bezel, you’re left with a bigger touchscreen than the 8-inch display that dominates the center console of the pre-facelifted Range Rover Sport.
Not much is expected to change under the skin of the Sport. If my intuition is correct, the 550 horsepower supercharged V8 of the Range Rover Sport SVR will be enhanced to produce 25 more horsepower, bringing it in line with the awe-inspiring Jaguar F-Type SVR. Most importantly, the additional ponies should be enough to keep the BMW X5 M and all of its 575 ponies at bay.
UPDATE: We've added fresh pics of the 2017 Range Rover Sport facelift in the gallery.
If you squint your eyes a little, you could confuse the regular Range Rover Sport facelift with the high-performance Sport SVR. Look closer and you’ll observe that the SVR doesn’t have blades integrated into the air intakes. Neither the side profile nor the rear end reveal anything remotely new about the mid-sized sport utility vehicle. Don’t be disappointed, though, because this is but an early test mule, not the production-ready Range Rover Sport.
The photograph of the interior reveals the same steering wheel, HVAC unit, door panels, and air vents as before. The infotainment system is the most obvious change here. Provided that you can ignore the duct tape used to mask the bezel, you’re left with a bigger touchscreen than the 8-inch display that dominates the center console of the pre-facelifted Range Rover Sport.
Not much is expected to change under the skin of the Sport. If my intuition is correct, the 550 horsepower supercharged V8 of the Range Rover Sport SVR will be enhanced to produce 25 more horsepower, bringing it in line with the awe-inspiring Jaguar F-Type SVR. Most importantly, the additional ponies should be enough to keep the BMW X5 M and all of its 575 ponies at bay.
UPDATE: We've added fresh pics of the 2017 Range Rover Sport facelift in the gallery.
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