A model for every taste? Well, not quite, but automakers seem to have arrived at the conclusion that model range diversification is the key to selling more cars, and securing buyer loyalty in the future. Enter the newest Range Rover, the SV Coupe, JLR’s most recent attempt to nail down another subcategory of high-end SUV taste.
This time, the subcategory favors urbanity and street performance, especially the former. Now, those are two words that run rather against the grain of the original SUV manifesto. But this is a Range Rover, after all, so a certain amount of aristocratic flash is to be expected.
Still and all, the SV Coupe might be the flashiest Range Rover variant to join the line to date. The nose of the vehicle looks like a 21st-century definition of four-wheeled uncompromising, but it also manages to look literate and attractive in the bargain; as the lines of the car gracefully rise and slope away toward the back end this impression is only reinforced. The design language of the Sport, Evoque, and standard models isn’t nearly as definitive. The SV Coupe looks like a RR for grownups: all business. But also refined enough to know its way around the Lower West Side.
And, expensive. At nearly $300K, this particular entry in the Range Rover lineup will siphon a lot more cash from your checking account than the other models in the lineup. Its base sticker price is over three times that of the benchmark Range Rover model.
But the SV Coupe can hit a top speed of 165 MPH, and its interior looks as rarified as its exterior; special leathers and trim options are specific to the limited-edition SUV, and there are creature comforts options unavailable elsewhere in the line.
The production run of the SV Coupe runs to only 999 examples. The model will be available late 2018.
