What's the news?
We have already had a sneak preview of the interior of the Range Rover SV Coupe, which its maker calls the 'world's first full-size luxury SUV coupe', but now here's the full run-down on this super-limited, super-special version of the iconic 4x4. Hold your breath when we come to the price, though...
Exterior
Just 999 examples of the Range Rover SV Coupe will be hand-assembled at the Special Vehicles Operations (SVO) Technical Centre in England and, while it is clearly based on the current 'L405' fourth-generation Range Rover, Land Rover says the SV only shares the bonnet and lower tailgate with its five-door cousin - all the rest of the Coupe's aluminium exterior panels are new, including the front and rear bumpers.
You might also notice the distinctive grille treatment, which sees a two-layer mesh - Brunel Metallic at the rear, Bright Chrome at the front - and a Satin Indus Silver metal surround giving the SV Coupe a different face to the current Range Rover, while the Bright Chrome/Black Knurled bonnet and tailgate 'Range Rover' legends are hand-crafted in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. The side vents just aft of the front wheels repeat the mesh and silver/chrome pattern, while the two doors allowing ingress/egress into/out of the cabin (as you can't access the SV Coupe's interior via the boot) are frameless and have power-close functionality, as well as Bright Chrome-embellished handles. Up front, pixel-laser headlights with 144 LEDs and four laser diodes provide five times more illumination than standard LEDs, with Laser Supplementary High Beam (operating above 80km/h) shining more than 500 metres ahead of the vehicle at night.
To finish the opulent looks of the SV Coupe, eight body colours are available in gloss or satin effects. Four of these are offered for the first time on any Range Rover, these being Constellation, Parallax, Liquesence and Obsidian, while the other four are from the SV Premium Palette and are Ethereal, Flux, Valloire, and Desire. Liquesence, in particular, is interesting, as it's a liquid-metal paint and that's another first for a Range Rover. If none of this sounds exclusive enough, though, then there are four duo-tone gloss 'Contour Graphic' options and a further 16 optional SV Premium Palette colours in a variety of finishes. And if you're still not satisfied with that, then bespoke personalisation services through SVO allow for almost limitless aesthetic possibilities.
Interior
The obvious difference is that there are no rear doors to access the back, while the SV Coupe only has four seats inside - like the plusher, optioned-up models of the regular Range Rover. However, while we are talking about possible two-tone colour schemes inside, what's different in the SV Coupe is that the front seats and surroundings can be one colour, while the rear passengers sit in a differently shaded environment. Choose from Orchid/Eclipse, Orchid/Vintage Tan, Brogue/Ebony or Cirrus/Lunar if you like this split-finish look, or alternatively just choose from Ebony, Lunar, Eclipse or Vintage Tan for a single-tone interior.
Those seats are heated and cooled, and 20-way adjustable in the front, 10-way in the rear. The leather is semi-aniline and features a quilted design, while Nautica veneer - another first for a Range Rover - fuses walnut and sycamore together. This can be found on the steering wheel rim, door casings, centre console, instrument panel and boot floor, or you can choose from Natural Black Ash or Santo Palisander instead. Further, the SV Coupe features the InControl Touch Pro Duo twin-screen infotainment with a 12-inch Interactive Driver Display, a full-colour head-up display and a 1,700-watt, 23-speaker Meridian Signature Sound System with a dual-channel subwoofer featuring Trifield 3D audio technology.
Mechanicals
The Range Rover SV Coupe uses the most powerful version of the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine employed in a Land Rover product, here delivering 565hp and 700Nm. Driving all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic, that leads to a 0-100km/h time of 5.3 seconds and a 266km/h top speed, so the SV Coupe is the fastest full-sized Range Rover built so far.
To ensure it's dynamic, the SV Coupe has an air suspension ride height that is 8mm lower than the standard Range Rover, and it lowers another 15mm once the SUV goes beyond 105km/h, to enhance stability and minimise fuel consumption. In the wheel arches reside alloys of anything between 21- and 23 inches in size, spread across four designs, two of which are forged wheels; one design being the 23-inch, two-tone silver polished six split-spoke rim on 275/40 R23 all-terrain tyres.
But this is a Range Rover, when all's said and done, and so not only can the air suspension jack the car up 75mm and more when it's off-roading, there's permanent four-wheel drive and a two-speed transfer box with an Active Locking Rear Differential on the SV Coupe, plus Terrain Response 2 software with seven programmes, up to and including both Sand and Rock Crawl settings. Range Rover says the SV Coupe has the same 900mm maximum wading depth and 3.5-tonne towing capacity as a regular model, with approach, breakover and departure angles (respectively) of 31, 26.5 and 25 degrees, as well as 263mm of ground clearance.
Anything else?
Gerry McGovern, the chief design officer at Land Rover, said: "The Range Rover SV Coupe is a celebration of the Range Rover bloodline. With a dramatic two-door silhouette, this breath-taking four-seat coupe alludes to its unique heritage while being thoroughly modern and contemporary. Beautifully realised, superbly engineered, the Range Rover SV Coupe delivers the most distinguished, luxurious and exclusive Range Rover ever built."
And so it does. We don't have Irish prices as yet, but in the UK the SV Coupe is around 36 per cent more expensive than even the Range Rover SVAutobiography Dynamic, which is €282,600. That would make the SV about €385,000 if it was to come here... Expressions of interest in the Range Rover SV Coupe can be made right now at www.landrover.com, with cars going on sale in the last quarter of 2018.