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]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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This is a very beautiful luxury SUV. A shame that it is only available with one engine choice, and a potentially very inefficient engine at that.
This feels like a bit of a cynical marketing exercise, with JLR dipping its toe in the water to try and figure out if the can go toe to toe with Bentley. The answer is that they can but that they need to invest in an all new body and levels of luxury not found in an ordinary car. It also must be the best off-roader in its class bar none. I do wonder if Jaguar will try something similar using the Daimler brand....