Range Rover Sport: Volvo camo hides new luxury British SUV
The all-new Range Rover Sport has been spied at the Nurburgring, giving us our first look at the basic design of the luxury sports SUV that is due for release late next year.
Despite the best efforts of some cunning camouflage artists to make it look like a Volvo XC90, the prototype has the unmistakeable boxy dimensions of a Range Rover, and – in perhaps the biggest giveaway – was spied entering the British manufacturer’s garage at the famous German testing facility.
Like its base car – the fourth-generation Range Rover, which itself was spied about two months ago ahead of its unveiling at the 2012 Paris motor show – the new Range Rover Sport draws inspiration from the softer urban styling of the globally popular Range Rover Evoque.
The Range Rover Sport prototype features more heavily raked front and rear windows and a tapered roofline, as well as shorter, less prominent front and rear bumpers and cleaner side panels. The new model will also be lower and wider than the current model.
Like the upcoming Range Rover, the Sport will get LED-infused headlights that wrap around the front corners similar to the Evoque’s.
The Sport's powertrain line-up is set to borrow from sister brand Jaguar, offering the new supercharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol, a 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel, and a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 for the range-topping variant.
An emphasis on reducing weight through the use of aluminium in the car’s construction promises to make the new Range Rover Sport quicker and more economical than ever.
The Range Rover Sport is expected to hit the market around 12 months after the standard Range Rover, which is due either late this year or early in 2013.
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Video: ‘Top Gear Australia’ first preview and release date
