This 2018 Land Rover Range Rover Sport 5.0 SVR has a stunning specification coming with over £12,000 in extras, Specced with Heads up Display, Extended Carbon Fibre Trim Finisher, SVR Carbon Fibre Exterior Pack with Exposed Carbon Bonnet, Heated and Cooled front seats with Heated rear seats, Privacy Glass, Sliding Glass Panoramic Sunroof & 22″ 5 split spoke Alloys, this really is a one of a kind spec!

Is there much of a difference from the older model?

They have cleaned up the design a little and added some extra kit. But SVO division managed to squeeze even more power out of the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 in the SVR – namely 24bhp and 14lb ft. That meant a drop in the sprint time by 0.3sec to 4.3 seconds and 12mph added to the top speed now totalling 174mph. You know that wide-eyed, jaw-dropping reaction you make in the midst of a fierce thunderstorm when lightning strikes? It feels, and indeed sounds, just like that – when it’s in Dynamic mode, anyway. The sports exhaust system accentuates the supercharged V8 as much as it can – bellowing under hard throttle, farting like a spoiled brat blowing raspberries on upshifts and dumping big globs of fuel into the exhaust just for the hell of it when coasting. With the sports exhaust on its exentric but it’s so, so addictive.

For such a big vehicle, does it handle?

It’s no 991 turbo around the bends, but not that far off. Even if this is the fire-breathing model, the Range Rover Sport is still built for wafty comfort rather than out-and-out dynamics. Switch it to Dynamic mode and there’s admirable body control without ruining the ride, a weighty steering rack that’s smooth but borders on feeling overly-artificial, and all-wheel drive that will pull you out of almost any hard corner situation.

How about the interior?

The Range Rover Sport now uses the same interior design setup first seen on the Velar, so there’s a twin Touch Pro Duo infotainment system named. An upper screen controls nav, entertainment and phone connectivity while a lower screen is reserved for climate control, seating settings and the drive mode select. Range Rover SVR’s interior is a clean blend of ultra-modern touches and some very clever little details. Material quality is really impressive.