2024 Range Rover Sport SV First Drive: Powerful On-Road and Off

The 2024 Range Rover Sport SV is already sold out; invitation-only customers quickly gobbled up the roughly 600 Edition One versions of the high-performance SUV offered for the first model year. Deliveries are underway now. Customers are already waiting as long as a year for the regular Range Rover Sport, so future owners of the low-volume SV variants following this Edition One can expect to wait at least that long for their shot at one. The reality is people can wait as long as 18 months for Range Rovers in general. And if you want the latest, hottest niche version, the high-performance Range Rover Sport SV, you're looking at signing up for a 2025 model when order banks open up later this year.

While you are waiting, we can tell you what you can expect if you decide to join the queue for a luxury SUV designed to offer comfort and refinement in everyday driving; the off-road chops you expect from Land Rover; and the track performance of a vehicle with a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 pumping out 626 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. The new Range Rover Sport SV makes 51 horsepower and 38 lb-ft of torque more than the previous-generation Sport SVR with its supercharged 5.0-liter V-8. The new SV becomes the most powerful Range Rover to date.

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Driving the 2024 Range Rover Sport SV Edition One

We traveled to Portugal to get behind the wheel of some European-spec 2024 Range Rover Sport SV Edition Ones, yes the limited-edition ones you can no longer buy. The SV is based on the third-generation Range Rover Sport, which launched for the 2022 model year. The SUV was given to the SVO (Special Vehicle Operations) team to adorn it with more power and the latest tech. The challenge: the SV needed to keep the core characteristics of the Range Rover Sport. It must offer a pampered experience with on-road manners and its off-road prowess must remain intact. And it must also be a track monster, says director of SVO Jamal Hameedi.

The SV is a testbed for innovation and new tech. It was in the works for five years, a long and intense time, but necessary because a lot of the technology still had to be invented, Hameedi says.

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Chassis is Key

The Sport rides on the new MLA Flex platform that is used by the larger Range Rover, as well, and will underpin all future models in the Range Rover family that still have an internal combustion engine. The platform provides more baked-in torsional stiffness for engineers to work with. It was a good foundation for the SVO team. A good track car starts with the chassis and brakes to control a large vehicle safely at high speeds on a challenging course. The SV has carbon ceramic brakes, a first for a Range Rover. They provide great bite without being overly harsh, and the pedal feel is more like that found in a sports car than in an SUV. The calipers even look different. Their design started with a meeting with Brembo and a discussion about the increasing size of brakes and friction rings. Brembo had the idea to pull the pistons inboard for a more efficient design.

The Sport SV rides on 23-inch carbon fiber wheels. Hameedi says this is the fourth carbon wheel program he has done. He could not sign off until they could perform on the track as well as off-road. The vehicles launch with all-season tires standard and the rear tires are wider than those up front for enhanced grip. By year's end there will be optional Michelin Pilot Sport S5 summer tires available from the factory. The difference: the prior generation vehicle needed a new set of tires after two laps of the Nürburgring; the new car can last eight laps, a testament to the tires and the how the car better manages the contact patches.

The 6D Dynamic Suspension System keeps the vehicle very planted; there is surprisingly little body roll or head toss, even on the challenging three-mile Portimao F1 track in Portugal. It is a fully hydraulic, semi-active system with hydraulically interlinked dampers, pitch control, and height-adjustable air springs. The pitch and roll control keeps the vehicle near level at all times.

Hameedi remembers the first time he experienced going from full firm suspension to full soft with and was amazed by the bandwidth. The SUV is tuned 15 percent stiffer than non-SV versions, but after two days of driving through the Portuguese countryside, on roads in desperate need of repair, the ride was not harsh and the SV showed itself to be a comfortable daily driver. Engineers also gave the SV a new and lowered rear subframe with new suspension links with revised geometry which cut the height of the roll center in half.

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Steering Revised

For responsiveness, the SV has a revised steering ratio and revised rear wheel steering calibration to make it easier to maneuver on a tight trail and make the vehicle feel smaller than it is, especially on a dynamic road or when making a tight turn. Mission accomplished. The vehicle feels light and nimble. It is only on narrow European streets and in the tunnel to the paddock at the race circuit that we were we reminded that this is a very large SUV.

On the track, the SV is indeed a monster. Before setting out, engaging SV mode reduces the ride height by 15 mm and adjusts everything from throttle to brake response, and steps up the exhaust note. The SUV performs like a sports car with power straining to be released. After braking, which is smooth and effective, the SV will lurch forward when you step on the gas.

Hameedi admits when he left Ford Performance five years ago to head SVO, he thought SUVs had no place on the track. He has since eaten his words and today wants everything taken to the track.

Off Road Prowess

We spent an hour off-road, through some mud and dirt that recent rainy days enhanced. The vehicle can wade in 35 inches of water but we had to skip one pond because the rains brought a fresh batch of frogs whose lives needed to be preserved.

Sliding the mode button on the center touchscreen pulls up a menu of off-road choices, and this is where you choose one of two ride heights for ground clearance, activate hill descent, and can turn on cameras that show in front of the vehicle as well as the area on the side of each front tire. The reality is the course barely challenged the SV. It is indeed a true Range Rover in its ability to bounce down cement stairs, navigate off-camber obstacles, climb steep hills, and handle mud.

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Does the SV Look Different?

The Range Rover Sport SV has an airflow-enhanced front end, carbon fiber tipped quad tailpipes, and generally more carbon fiber inside and out to reduce weight and generally look cool. Inside, the vehicle debuts the new "Body and Soul" seats with imbedded transducers so your body feels the pulses of the music. The seats also measure heart rate and other healthy metrics.

There is also a new 3D knit material with no stitch lines that debuts on the headrests. And the paddle shifters on the steering wheel are clear so you can see through them for a better view of the instrument panel.

Selling Halo Vehicles

Range Rover's SV or halo vehicles represent up to 5 percent of a nameplate's volume; the current SVR has a take rate of about 5 percent and the new SV is expected to do the same. The special vehicles give the lineup credibility and amplify the characteristics of the vehicle, says Adam Constable, head of Range Rover strategy. The SV is built in Solihull alongside the regular Range Rover Sport and is then sent to the SVO facility for paint. The Range Rover Sport SV starts at $181,775.