Weighing in at 5,093 pounds (2,310 kilograms) in U.S. specification before adding options, the Range Rover Sport SVR isn’t exactly a lightweight contender in the battle of the SUVs. The good news is Land Rover through its Special Vehicle Operations division is looking into ways to slash some of the fat and make the high-performance SUV even faster.
Lead vehicle engineer for the Sport SVR program, Ben Verrecchia, revealed in an interview with Australia’s Motoring he is a promoter of carbon ceramic brake discs as part of the Range Rover Sport SVR’s diet. It would lead to a total weight loss of 53 lbs (24 kg), but it’d to take more than just sourcing the braking system from the F-Type SVR. The engineer mentioned SVO would basically have to develop the brakes from the ground up and also fiddle with the SUV’s chassis to accommodate the new carbon ceramic setup.
A more drastic method to shave off weight is also being analyzed: getting rid of the rear seats. Verrecchia admitted SVO is already evaluating out on the roads stripped-out test mules with two seats and a roll cage. Such a hardcore version of the Range Rover Sport SVR would follow the Jaguar XE SV Project 8, a limited-edition four-door sedan offered in some markets with an optional track pack eliminating the rear seats.
If green-lighted for production, one has to wonder whether the SVO-tweaked version will go after the Nürburgring title for the fastest SUV considering the Range Rover Sport SVR is a former record holder. Back in 2014, it completed a lap of the Nordschleife in 8 minutes and 14 seconds, but since then the performance has been improved twice by the Porsche Cayenne S (7:59) and the Alfa Romeo with its Stelvio Quadrifoglio. The latter is the current record holder with a time of 7 minutes and 51.7 seconds, unless the Lamborghini Urus and the yet-unreleased Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid will have something to say about that in the near future.
Source: Motoring
Gallery: 2018 Range Rover Sport SVR
