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YOUR CARRIAGE AWAITS I
Transportation
Your Carriage Awaits
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Range Rover raises the bar on SUV performance and luxury.
Slipping behind the wheel of the new Range Rover SV—revving the powerful twin turbo V8 engine and running your eyes across the posh, high-tech interior—it’s hard to believe that such a quintessential 21st-century creation traces its roots to a humble British farm vehicle introduced after World War II.
Yet, it’s that agrarian pedigree combined with the latest state-of-the-art motoring technology that makes the latest Range Rover such a compelling vehicle to own and drive.
With four-wheel drive, new all-wheel steering, wade sensing technology for driving across ponds or streams, and sturdy MLA-Flex body architecture, dynamic air suspension and adaptive off-road cruise control, the Range Rover SV could easily be used on missions to check on the sheep in the back pasture. But luxurious urban driving and super-comfy road trips are its real fortes. Designed and handcrafted by the company’s Special Vehicle Operations unit, even the most basic model ($193,100 MSRP) features stylish white or black ceramic controls, hot stone massage front seats, an Amazon Alexa-enabled touchscreen and a roomy backseat.
Squarely aimed at other British luxury SUVs like the Aston Martin DBX and Bentley Bentayga, the new Range Rover offers an impressive menu of options that can easily kick up the final price to
around $240,000. Most stunning of these is a fourseat “SV Signature Suite” on the long-wheelbase model that features an electronic pop-up table, twin entertainment screens, mini fridge, SV branded crystal glassware and plush bucket seats worthy of airline first class.
Beyond standard features and options, there are plenty of ways to customize the vehicle. “In addition to the technological and design advances inherent in the new Range Rover SV, it offers greater scope for personalization and customer choice than ever before,” says Michael Van der Sande, managing director of Range Rover’s Special Operations unit.
Long gone are the post-war days when Rovers only came in military surplus green. The palette of bespoke colors ranges from British Racing Green and Icy White to ultra-metallic blue and red. Buyers can also select from a variety of exterior accents, seat fabrics and interior veneers and finishes with marquetry, metal inlays or mosaic embossing.
With a Jaguar Land Rover goal to achieve total electric propulsion by the end of the decade, the SV also offers the option of an extended-range plug-in hybrid powertrain with an electric range of more than 60 miles.
