Range Rover Sport SVR is the fastest SUV ever to lap the Nurburgring

The launch of the Range Rover Sport SVR is still some time away. The high-performance SUV, in fact, will hit the showrooms in 2015; however, it is already in the news, and for a very good reason. According to Land Rover, the Range Rover Sport SVR has lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany in 8 minutes 14 seconds, making it the fastest production SUV around the challenging 20.8 kilometre-long circuit.

The record run was carried out by a Land Rover driver during the SVR’s testing schedule at the Nurburgring. The new SVR, which made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June, is powered by an up rated version of Land Rover’s 5-litre supercharged V8 engine, which has been tuned to deliver 550bhp of power – a 40bhp increase over the existing V8 derivative.

The Range Rover Sport SVR has been developed by Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations team, with the aim of producing the most performance-focused Range Rover ever. Despite its track-oriented nature, the company says it has made no compromises as far as off-roading capabilities are concerned. The vehicle features a twin-speed transfer case providing a choice of high and low gear ratios and the same 850mm wading depth as other models in the Range Rover Sport line-up.

Globally, the Range Rover Sport SVR will arrive in Land Rover showrooms in 2015. Once launched, the vehicle will go up against the sportiest version of the Porsche Cayenne – an SUV which is known best for its sports car-like on road manners.