2015 Range Rover Sport SVR Blows Away Competition Lap Times

Forget about the BMW X5 M, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and the Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, because the British have trumped them all. The 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR has claimed the fastest lap time on the Nurburgring Nordschleife for a production sport utility vehicle. The new model, which will be released in 2015, raced around the long track in an astonishing 8 minutes and 14 seconds.

Everyone should realize that time is not only impressive for an SUV, but is also pretty respectable in general. It is within only a few seconds of the best times posted by the likes of the BMW M5 (E60) and even the Acura NSX, showing not only how incredibly powerful the new sport utility is, but also how nimble it can handle the course’s notorious turns, like the Carousel.

Land Rover has revealed that the Ranger Rover Sport SVR is powered by a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine that pumps out 550 horsepower. Naturally, there is a whole host of other performance upgrades that make the vehicle handle more like a sports car. Even more impressive is the fact that the company still preserved the model’s ability to cross water that is up to 33.5 inches deep, plus the low-range transfer case that comes in handy when road conditions deteriorate or when the driver needs to get somewhere paved roads do not exist.

The Nurburgring Nordschleife has become a popular testing ground and benchmarking tool for automakers from around the world. The course provides a number of challenges that push a vehicle in a number of ways, making it an excellent test of all-around performance.