2009 Range Rover Sport spy photos
June 26, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
After having received a minor facelift in 2007, the Range Rover Sport is apparently given yet another makeover as these shots, taken at the Nürburgring, prove.
Most obvious is the narrower grille with only two instead of the three bars known so far.
Also modified are the air-intakes in the wings – and they hint to the real news only to be found under the bonnet.
This prototype employs the soon-to-come 5.0-litre V8 diesel engine, rumoured to be equipped with a supercharger and direct injection.
Currently there are four different variants of the Range Rover Sport available in Australia.
- TdV6 Wagon 2.7DT – $88,990
- V8 Wagon 4.4i – $110,990
- V8 Wagon 3.6DT – $110,990
- Super Charged Wagon 4.2S – $139,990
Read our Range Rover Sport review.
Print it: 
Still one of the best 4×4s for off-road work & now comes with a 5 litre V8 Supercharge diesel engine.
Cheers !
Its all well and good to have performance (cough) 4WD\’s but how good is this off road?
I quite like the basic shape of these, since it is ideal for off-roading.
But they’ve made them look a bit busy with all the fiddly body bits and shapes, kind of Korean Bling.
Total contrast to the understated Touareg, which looks far better to me. It’s cheaper too, and just as capable off-road, and has long had the mighty V10 twin turbo diesel.
An then both vehicles are far too pricey to take off road for fear of scratches, dents, and probably worst of all something ripped out from underneath.
Why must automakers test everything on the nurburgring now?
I mean hypercars are one thing, even performance cars
but i mean, its a 2 and a half tonne 4wd
by the looks of one of those oics it look loslike LR is trying to achieve the sae dynamics as a3 series coupe all it really has to do is lose a tone
I think you will find it is a 4.0 twin turbo diesel and a 5.0 supercharged petrol to replace the current 3.6d and 4.2s. While everbody is talking about the two new 8’s nobody is asking about the TDV6 this is where the big surprise will come from.
1. The off road ability of this car is well proven.
2. The Touareg is a great car but the V10 block design choice makes the car nose heavy and take a look under both cars.
3. Nurburgring is a good way to compare products that set the standard. If you can make a block of flats handle as good a German Hot Hatch that is a good start. The English do love to show off.
^”Hey Kettle, you’re black” says Pot.
An Aussie accusing the English of liking to show off has nearly caused me to piss myself!
And asking if the Range Rover is any good off road is like asking if the new Porsche 911 is going to be a bit fast. This isn’t pretend like the Ford Territory – this is a proper offoad vehicle and the DNA has been proven for nearly 60 years.
Tom Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Why must automakers test everything on the nurburgring now?
I mean hypercars are one thing, even performance cars
but i mean, its a 2 and a half tonne 4wd
In Australia seldom rarely do people afford these cars for proper off-roading. Everyone wants to be an inner city gangster.
range rovers sports would be great off-road if they didnt ruin them with oversized bling-bling wheels and low profile tyres. About as much use off road as a chocolate teapot.
ES KITTU BA
Just back from the showroom and the only difference between the 08 and 09 is the indicator lights on the side and rear are now clear rather than orange glass. Also the rear panel where there is the R A N G E R O V E R is now color coded to the rest of the exterior rather than in a matte finish.
good at 4×4 ?????
no way you want a new car thats good at 4×4 get a land cruiser 200
in fact any land cruiser would beat this
Funny you say Land Cruiser is better offroad…are you talking from experience from both vehicles? The Sport has better articulation, ground clearance and traction systems. I have driven and compared both off road and they are much the same….if you are worried about offroad then buy a Discovery3, it will blow any Toyota into the weeds.
This thread is probably well dead, but I just thought I’d add a comment to make myself feel important. I’m an englishman now living in Australia, and in my job have used both new and old rovers and cruisers (as well as others) in ‘very’ offroad conditions. With older ones, I’ve always found the rovers stronger, but the cruisers more reliable. With the new ones, I think it’s now a case of how you drive them. Both brands are ABLE to be far better than anything available even 10 years ago, and, if we’re honest, far better than most of us are able to push them. As far as the ‘too much money and too shiny to take off road’ comments, I’d retort with ‘well if I wasn’t gonna take it off road, imagine what a hot jag I could have bought instead!’
One last thing (if anyone’s reading this!!) I was interested by the Discover3 is better comment. Having not used it much (yet) could you qualify that in terms of its cabability compared to the Sport?
Cheers guys
Gov