Range Rover Sport SVR claims Nürburgring record

8 minutes 14 seconds.

That’s how fast that Range Rover Sport SVR above was able to lap the 20.832km of the Nürburgring Nordschleife. That’s pretty quick for a truck. Actually, it’s pretty bloody quick for any vehicle.

According to the unofficial list for unofficial production car lap times the Sport SVR has split the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG (8:13) and the BMW 1 Series M Coupé (8:15) right down the middle. That’s some exalted company for a motoring monolith to be mixing with around the Ring.

Of course, the secret lies, in part, in the SVR suffix which indicates this super SUV has 404kW (550PS) to play with from its fearsome sounding 5.0 litre supercharged V8. That’s an extra 29kW (50PS) more than the regular Range Rover Sport.

The JLR Special Vehicle Operations boffins who found that extra power also beefed up the SVR’s suspension for flatter cornering. Although, importantly, “this has been achieved without compromising the vehicle’s class-leading all terrain capabilities or high levels of comfort”.

Although, as the video below reveals, presumably they’re not referring to the oh so comfy racing buckets and roll cage fitted to this particular “production SUV”. Still, a sub-8:30 SUV that sounds like a thunder storm, what’s not to like!

Range Rover Sport SVR: Fastest production SUV around Nürburgring

• Range Rover Sport SVR: Fastest and most powerful production Land Rover ever laps legendary Nordschleife circuit in Germany in 8 minutes 14 seconds.
• Achieved without compromising the vehicle’s class-leading all terrain capabilities or high levels of comfort.

Whitley, UK, 30 July 2014 – The Range Rover Sport SVR has lapped the famous Nordschleife circuit at the Nürburgring in Germany in 8 minutes 14 seconds, making it the fastest production SUV around the Nürburgring. The impressive feat was carried out by a Land Rover driver testing a standard production example of the potent new performance flagship.

The new SVR, which made its dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June returned to the Nürburgring this month to continue an exhaustive testing schedule. The Range Rover Sport SVR is powered by an uprated version of Land Rover’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine, which has been tuned to deliver 550PS – a 40PS increase over the existing V8 Supercharged derivative.

The handling characteristics of the SVR have been honed on the demanding Nürburgring Nordschleife because the undulating circuit’s challenging layout represents the ultimate test for high performance vehicles.

Mike Cross, Chief Engineer Vehicle Integrity, said: “The Nürburgring is a benchmark for vehicle development and testing, and cars become stronger, more durable and faster over its 13 miles and 70-plus corners. We wanted to see whether an SUV could behave like a performance car in this challenging environment. The results are spectacular and the Range Rover Sport SVR has demonstrated outstanding on-road performance capabilities.”

Development of the Range Rover Sport SVR has been carried out by Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations team, with the aim of producing the most performance-focused Range Rover Sport ever. This has been achieved without compromising the vehicle’s class-leading all terrain capabilities or high levels of comfort. The Range Rover Sport SVR features a twin-speed transfer case to provide a choice of high and low gear ratios and the same 850mm wading depth as other models in the Range Rover Sport line-up.

The Range Rover Sport SVR will arrive in Land Rover showrooms in 2015.