New Range Rover Sport SV Drag Races Old Range Rover Sport SVR, Both Are 12-Second SUVs

Also offered in the Range Rover, the 4.4-liter engine will soon make its way under the hood of the Land Rover Discovery OCTA. Because the British automaker is pushing towards electrification, the long-running AJ-V8 Gen III 5.0 is most certainly going to be discontinued by the end of 2024.

Tipping the scales at 2,485 kilograms or 5,478 pounds in RHD spec, the Range Rover Sport SV belts out a massive 626 horsepower and 553 pound-feet (750 Nm) of torque at full chatter. By comparison, the previous-gen Range Rover Sport SVR develops 567 horsepower and 516 pound-feet (700 Nm) from its 5.0-liter supercharged V8, with Land Rover quoting 2,310 kilos (5,093 pounds).

Care to guess which one's quicker in the quarter mile? With Mat Watson of carwow in the driver's seat, the SV needs 12.0 seconds on the nose as opposed to 12.9 seconds for the SVR with Sam Maher-Loughnan behind the wheel. Given their curb weight ratings and torque-converter autos from ZF, those are seriously impressive numbers.

From a roll, however, the results are mixed. At 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers) and with the transmissions in automatic mode, the SVR somehow manages to keep the SV at bay over half a mile of wide-open throttle. It may be lighter than the SV, but the SVR develops maximum torque between 3,500 and 5,000 revolutions per minute compared to 1,800 and 5,855 for the SV.

In any case, the far pricier model asserts dominance in sport mode from third gear. The 2024 Range Rover Sport SV also brakes harder than its predecessor from 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour), stopping in a shorter distance. Considering its carbon-ceramic brakes and stickier tires, it should come as no surprise that the heavier SUV stops that much better in this scenario.

Given time, both the Range Rover Sport and more stately Range Rover will receive all-electric siblings. The platform that underpins them was developed from the outset with full electrification in mind, with said platform dubbed MLA-Flex.

Last year, Jaguar Land Rover increased PHEV sales more than any other automaker in Europe. But alas, Jaguar Land Rover has also scaled back its EV plans due to a slowdown in demand for battery-electric vehicles. During a recent earnings call, chief exec Adrian Mardell told investors that Land Rover will debut four instead of the six electric models originally intended to enter production by 2026. Over at Jaguar, a four-door grand tourer will be launched in 2025 on the so-called Jaguar Electric Architecture (JEA).

If the Jaguar brand isn't sold off by Tata Motors in the near future to whoever bids more, the Leaping Cat of Coventry will bolster its battery-electric vehicle lineup with two additional models in the coming years. Also worthy of note, Jaguar's internal combustion models will be discontinued in June 2024.