Range Rover SV Coupe: Abandoning Utility for Exclusivity

Jaguar Land Rover previously mentioned it was working on a two-door flagship sport utility vehicle for Range Rover — a model it promised would be the most expensive in the brand’s 70-year history. It certainly kept that promise. With a starting price of $295,000, the Range Rover SV Coupe fits the bill.

Ditching the “utility” portion of sport utility vehicle, the SV Coupe is all about style over substance. However, it is not the first two-door model offered by the company. Long after the Classic left the lineup, Range Rover built the Evoque Coupe until 2017. But that model was comparably pedestrian and didn’t come anywhere near the SV’s price tag. Nor did it boast the same level of hardware.

Even though you’re primarily paying for exclusivity, as the SV Coupe’s production is limited to only 999 units, Land Rover says it isn’t skimping on substance. Based on the brand’s big four-door (the one without a secondary title), the Coupe is shorter and comes equipped with a 5.0-liter supercharged V8, good for 577 horsepower. The automaker claims a 0-to-60 time of 5 seconds and a top speed of roughly 165 mph.

It’s also endowed with JLR’s Terrain Response 2 system, featuring presets for varied surfaces and an adjustable air suspension.

Land Rover did not neglect the interior either. Assuming you’ll actually want to crawl into the rear passenger compartment, once settled in you’ll be treated with sumptuous quilted leather that can be optioned in a different hue than the front seats. The front doors can also be closed remotely in case you want to sit in the back, alone, like some kind of rich creep.

Taking a page from the Range Rover Velar, the SV’s displays include two 10-inch interactive screens and another 12-inch screen in place of an instrument panel loaded with dials and buttons. There is also a head-up display.

Is it a good deal? Hell no. The Range Rover SVAutobiography Long Wheelbase appears to offer everything the Coupe does and then some. Its passengers also don’t have to climb in through the front and are treated with a refrigerator that holds two champagne-sized bottles and four feet of legroom. The Autobiography also stickers for $100,000 grand less than the new two-door, making the new model’s price very difficult to come to grips with.

Most people don’t walk into the dealership and demand they pay extra for a vehicle that’s missing features. But we suppose that’s not what the SV Coupe is really about. Its customers will want it because it exists — even if it doesn’t really need to. It’s a status vehicle for someone who could easily afford to purchase two.

Land Rover says the Coupe will be hand assembled at JLR’s SVO Technical Centre in Warwickshire, with deliveries beginning near the tail of 2018. Meanwhile, the base trim SVAutobiography is available now for $177,200, assuming you can handle ludicrous levels of luxury and two additional doors at a lower price.

[Images: Jaguar Land Rover]