There may be more luxurious SUVs out there, and there may be more off-road SUVs in production today. The thing is, the Range Rover is an institution in and of itself, a household name in the realm of SUVs.
Not all Range Rovers are created equal, though. The SV is the cream of the crop, a 606-horsepower leviathan that starts at $209k with the standard wheelbase or $234k with the long wheelbase. However, there's an even more opulent specification in the 2024 Range Rover's lineup.
Enter the SV Carmel Edition. A grand total of seven will be produced at $370,000 apiece, not including the destination freight charge. By comparison, the 2023 model used to retail at $345k. Only 17 were produced.
A portion of the suggested retail price will benefit the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, a federally protected area that stretches from Cambria in San Luis Obispo County to just north of San Francisco. The largest marine sanctuary in the United States stretches over 276 miles (444 kilometers) of shoreline.
Exclusive to the United States market, the SV Carmel Edition takes its name from the Carmel Highlands in California. The limited-run sport utility vehicle also takes inspiration from the region's beauty for certain design elements, including the Cream Ash Burr veneer interior trim and Pearl Oyster-colored carpets.
Glossy ceramic touchpoints, Perlino and Deep Garnet leather upholstery, embroidered cushions, and illuminated treadplates also need to be mentioned, along with – get this – two sets of custom golf clubs. Land Rover could've dropped said golf club sets. With the Range Rover already pretentious as is, there is no need whatsoever to bring the point home with golf clubs.
Photo: Land Rover
Pictured on 23-inch Diamond Turned Dark Grey Gloss forged alloys, the SV Carmel Edition wears SV Bespoke Special Effect Gloss white paint. Land Rover uses white glass flake particles to create a glistening shimmer.
Exclusively long wheelbase, the SV Carmel Edition comes with four seats only. It also flaunts an integrated refrigerator and an electrically deployable table. Based on the aforementioned SV, this fellow takes its mojo from a BMW-supplied V8 with mild-hybrid assist.
Rather than the N63, the powerplant in question is dubbed S68. The S prefix is used by the Bavarian automaker for M-specific engines, although it should be mentioned the S68 is also used by non-M vehicles.
Think 760i xDrive, a luxury sedan with 544 ponies and 553 pound-feet (750 Nm) to its name. The Range Rover SV and SV Carmel Edition are slightly more powerful, yet peak torque is exactly the same.
If you're curious why Land Rover prefers to buy an engine rather than develop one, that's pretty obvious. Both Land Rover and Jaguar are pivoting to electric propulsion, with the Range Rover scheduled to receive an electric option sometime in 2024, most likely for the 2025 model year. Being based on the MLA platform of the Range Rover, the Sport will go electric as well.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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