Range Rover Sport SV Black - front
When we drove the Range Rover Sport SV on its launch last year, we were impressed. Like, really impressed. There were a couple of problems, though. Firstly, it was hugely, enormously, eye-wateringly expensive, and secondly, it was only a limited edition thing – just 550 Edition One versions came to the UK, followed by a similarly small cohort of Edition Twos.
Thankfully, at least one of those problems has been solved today, as the SV is now a regular member of the range, sitting at the top of the new Range Rover Sport’s family tree. The recipe is exactly the same: 626bhp from a 4.4-litre BMW-sourced twin-turbo V8, sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic.
Range Rover Sport SV Black - interior
Despite that, the ‘standard’ RRSSV does lose out a little in the performance stakes compared to those limited introductory models: top speed drops from 180 to 165mph, and the 0-60mph run from 3.6 to 3.8 seconds.
On the other hand, you can have it in a much greater variety of colours and interior trims, and it’s a chunk cheaper – last year, an Edition One would have set you back north of £170,000, while the series production SV starts at ‘only’ £139,995.
Range Rover Sport SV Black - rear
If you simply must have a Range Rover Sport SV with the same performance figures as Editions One and Two, though, Land Rover still has you covered. Launching alongside the ‘regular’ version is the SV Black, the car in all the pictures above.
As the name suggests, is black. It has a black exterior, black interior, black wheels and even blacked-out badges. It also restores the 180mph top speed and 3.6-second 0-60mph run of those early cars, and will cost you from £154,975.
Range Rover Sport Stealth Edition - front
Finally, if you like the moody aesthetic of the SV Black but don’t want the slightly unhinged performance it offers, there’s another new model joining the RRS range that might be to your taste. Called the Stealth Edition, it comes exclusively in satin Carpathian Grey paint with either Ebony or Light Cloud (read: black or white) leather.
Based on the mid-range Dynamic SE trim, the Stealth Edition comes with either the D300 mild hybrid diesel or P460e plug-in hybrid powertrains, and starts at £101,570. Let’s be honest, though, you’re more interested in the V8 one, right?
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