Range Rover Sport
We had a French lady stay with us for a while last year.
How come? Long story, but my one abiding memory of her was the way she pronounced Range Rover. Rarr-nge Rov-eur. It was quite spectacular in her breathy Gallic tones.
In fact, Land Rover’s
(and obviously rather brilliant) parent company Tata should employ her to voice all its Range Rover ads regardless of where they’re being screened.
Any bloke needing the last nudge in the right direction when it comes to signing on the dotted line would surely be pushed over the edge by such subconscious allure.
Not that Tata needs much help at the moment, with sales of all models old and new currently re-writing record books and culminating in the recent fantastic news of 1,700 new jobs at its Jaguar Land Rover plant in Solihull.
My daughter and her hubby Callum are currently considering a used car purchase and firmly fixed in their sights is a second-hand Range Rover Sport. This is one reason among many I hope the new RRS is something to more than write home about.
The better it is, you see, the more it will drive down the price of the outgoing model. Selfish, perhaps, but realistic and pragmatic, I like to think.
The stuff of wonder continues on the inside with an interior so luxurious it teeters on the brink of audaciousness
So let’s see, shall we? I’ve been given not the standard model to test-drive but the out-of-the-extraordinary Autobiography Dynamic spec.
It comes with an all-guns-blazing, 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine gurgling and exploding under the hood.
My dear friends, what we have here isn’t really a Range Rover at all. It is rather a smoking, snorting, growling, hunting, fighting, thrilling machine, created to scare every other car off the road.
This, by the way, includes its more expensive brother, the brand new Range Rover Autobiography.
Obliteration commences with acceleration. Sixty comes in what is actually five seconds but feels ten times faster – we’re talking more Arnold Schwarzenegger circa Terminator than Tom Cruise circa Minority Report.
This car simply could not be any better...
We are talking about the layers and layers of perfection upon
perfection it takes to create a true masterpiece
It continues with the needless but marvellous elan of its top speed, which has been specified at 155mph – thanks to the same 510hp engine that can be found in the new Jaguar F Type.
And there are lightning bolts aplenty via the ceaseless flashes and cracks of the zap-zap-zap razor-sharp eight-speed automatic gearbox.
This beast is the most magical, sublime box of automotive tricks I have ever experienced.
Even my pet hate where new cars are concerned, the pointless but allegedly eco-friendly stop-start feature, is almost acceptable as part of this package.
Although this may be because any nod whatsoever to Mother Earth can only be classed as deep sarcasm coming from a car struggling to deliver anything close to 20mpg if driven anywhere near its capacity.
The stuff of wonder continues on the inside with an interior so luxurious it teeters on the brink of audaciousness.
The Range Rover Sport must surely now be hailed
as the world's first-ever super 4x4. There has simply never been a
production vehicle like her
The leather, thick and robust, comes out to meet you, and the dark aluminium on the dash and centre console whisper ‘more sport than range’.
My family and friends were almost at war over who could have a go in it next. Extra insurance was investigated for those not covered, food parcels were dropped to those waiting in line.
It was the noise that drew the crowds closer, a mystical calling from a force greater than that of their own free will.
This car simply could not be any better, like Niagara Falls in full flow, like an eagle on the wing, like every scene in The Graduate.
We are talking about the layers and layers of perfection upon perfection it takes to create a true masterpiece.
She looks fabulous, too (in the end all cars are female), her lights more cat’s eyes than cow’s and with the kind of handling that just shouldn’t be possible in a 4x4 of any size, never mind her confident bulk.
Why anyone would choose to opt for the duller, albeit fuller (and, let me repeat, more expensive) Range Rover over this oh-so spectacular Sport version I have no idea.
And all this added to what is already a whole new world of updated and uprated off-road, in river, cross-mountain, breathtaking Range Rover capability.
Of course, no one needs a vehicle like this and few of those lucky enough to end up owning one will even be aware of what she’s capable of.
But as the Lamborghini Miura was hailed as the world’s first-ever true supercar, the Range Rover Sport must surely now be hailed as the world’s first-ever super 4x4. There has simply never been a production vehicle like her.
Jaguar Land Rover has rewritten the book with this car.
The only thing left to fry our brains now is, if this is how the new testament begins, how the heck is it going to end?
TECH SPEC
£81,550, landrover.com
Engine 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 510hp
0-60mph Five seconds
Top speed 155 mph
Fuel consumption 21mpg
CO2 emissions 298g/km (£490/year tax band)
Engine 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 510hp
0-60mph Five seconds
Top speed 155 mph
Fuel consumption 21mpg
CO2 emissions 298g/km (£490/year tax band)
AND THE VERDICT
‘The world’s first ever super 4x4 looks fabulous and simply could not be better’
DRIVE TALKING
WHAT'S HOT ON THE ROAD THIS WEEK
With Nick Bagot
BMW’s heralded ‘i’ range broke cover earlier this summer with the all-electric hatchback i3. Now though, here’s the one we’ve all been waiting for: the i8. BMWs hybrid supercar is powered by a three-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor, which together produce 357bhp. Prices will start from around £100,000.
ALFA'S CLASS OF 4C
Alfa Romeo has announced full details for its new sports coupĂ©, the 4C, which goes on sale in October. The two-seater will be equipped with a 240bhp turbocharged petrol engine, and thanks to a dry weight of less than 900kg, will accelerate to 60mph in 4.5 seconds. The looks are guaranteed to turn heads; it starts at £45,000.
No comments:
Post a Comment