Jaguar pulls the plug on off-road vehicle
THE plug has been pulled on a vehicle billed as the ultimate off-roading Land Rover, a model which was set to be hand-made by skilled engineers in Coventry.
The Discovery SVX would have been the first Land Rover to be bestowed with an SVX badge and was due to be produced at the firm’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) centre in Ryton-onDunsmore.
What was described as “the ultimate all-terrain Discovery” was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2017 but it will not now go ahead.
The latest news comes shortly after Land Rover revealed it would also not be pressing ahead with the super deluxe Range Rover SV Coupe
That was announced in January 2018 and the car maker said it would build 999 versions of the luxury SUV, priced from £240,000, at SVO.
The Discovery SVX would have been the first of an SVX family of vehicles produced at Ryton.
The plan remains for the SVO facility to produce luxurious SV Autiobiography luxury cars, SVR performance cars and hardcore SVX off-road vehicles.
The Discovery SVX would have been fitted with a 525hp 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine. Jaguar Land Rover confirmed to Autocar that the V8 engine would not be destined for the Discovery line-up, meaning the SVX will not be going ahead.
However a spokesman for the car maker said plans for other SVX vehicles were still on track.
Other Discovery SVX features included increased ground clearance, body and suspension lifts, greater wheel articulation, large diameter all-terrain tyres, tuned Terrain Response 2 system, Active Roll Control and a rear-mounted winch.
Land Rover said the aim was to create a worthy wearer of a badge that is synonymous with off-roading, since the first Land Rover was launched more than 70 years ago.
It also referenced features of iconic Discovery off-road challenge vehicles, such as those used for Camel Trophy and G4 Challenge events.
Land Rover design supremo Gerry McGovern said the Discovery SVX had been designed for “customers who desire the ultimate in off-road performance”.
In the wake of the announcement that production of the Range Rover SV Coupe would not be going ahead at Ryton the car maker revealed there were plans to produce a souped-up version of its Range Rover Velar - the 170mph Velar SV Autobiography Dynamic Edition.