Range Rover Velar V8
No. No it isn’t. But don’t underestimate a slick, 542bhp supercharged SUV’s ability to paper over the cracks...
Jaguar Land Rover is in a bit of a financial quagmire. Thanks to a perfect storm of Brexit, a rapidly falling Chinese market, dropping diesel sales, plus investing in electrification, a scythe has been taken to its profits. This spiral has resulted in 4,500 redundancies in order to save £2.5 billion over 18 months. So, what’s the first car JLR is launching after this news? An SUV with a supercharged 5.0-litre V8. Sounds like TopGear maths to us.
It’s called the Range Rover Velar SVAutobiography Dynamic Edition, a juiced-up 542bhp Velar developed by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations.
Autobiography is a familiar name in Range Rover world, traditionally the plushest iteration. Here, the ‘Dynamic’-ness has also been added thanks to JLR’s supercharged V8 engine up front. With 542bhp, it’s comfortably the most powerful Velar on offer and can see off 0–62mph in 4.5 seconds… then go on to 170mph while massaging, heating and cooling your buttocks and back.
Given it’s now faster, Range Rover has also beefed up the stoppers, given the electronics and eight-speed gearbox a go-faster map, while the anti-roll bars have been uprated and the air suspension revised for a firmer ride.
Visually, everything’s a bit more butch. The car is lower, wider and features big intakes up front to feed that V8. There are new additions in the shape of four big chrome exhaust pipes (the new exhaust system saves 7.1kg) and some white grouting around the Range Rover badging.
It’s a similar story inside. There’s the same TFT in the place of the instrument pack, a big head-up display, plus two edgeless touch screens in the centre. But there has been some sportiness added: a new steering wheel (now with contoured rim) and a set of aluminium gearshift paddles.
Prices start from £86,120. Could this be the car that saves JLR? Probably not, but a few more supercharged V8s in the world is no bad thing. If you’re going down, you may as well go down in a cacophony of V8 roar.