Range Rover Velar SVR to be the Fastest Range Rover So Far

When you come up against the Range Rover Velar for the first time in the flesh, it's easy to be surprised at just how compact the proportions of this latest Range Rover model are. Even so, that isn't stopping Land Rover from shoehorning its tried and tested 5.0-liter V-8 engine under the hood of one to create what will soon be the fastest Range Rover model so far.

This new flagship version of the Velar is expected to be called the Velar SVR, and the combination of its compact size and that mighty 542 bhp engine under the hood will make it the quickest SVR model to date. The vehicle has so far only been seen in black and white camouflage being put through its paces at the Nurburgring, but it's expected the production version will be in showrooms by as soon as October of this year.

And as well as being the fastest SVR model so far, the Velar SVR will also have the honor of being the least expensive model to wear the SVR badge. Of course, that doesn't mean this is going to be a particularly affordable model. When it finally goes on sale it's expected to have a retail price of around £90,000 (equivalent to about US$125,000), which is close to £10,000 less than the next model up in the SVR range, the Range Rover Sport SVR.

There will be more to the Velar SVR than just a big engine though, and that's because the aluminum-based Range Rover will also benefit from a number of weight-saving measures to reduce the curb weight to around 1,800 kg. That means it will still be a pretty heavy vehicle, but it will weigh in at 465 kg less than its main rival, the BMW X6 M, and it will be almost 500 kg lighter than the Sport SVR.

The chassis set-up is still being worked on by those clever people at Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations unit, which will mean new performance settings for the air suspension such as a firmer, sportier mode designed for enthusiastic and engaging driving. And what all this means in terms of performance is an expected 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) time of just 4.2 seconds.

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