HISISACARTHATALMOST DIDN’TEXIST.
WhenJaguarLandRover’sfi nances
startedto lookshaky, itsSpecialVehicle
Operationsarmhadto take sometoughdecisions,
strikingthesuper-luxothree-doorRangeRoverand
off-road-biasedDiscoverySVXfromtheproduct
plan,thenhoveringthecrossing-outpenoverthe
JaguarF-PaceSVR.TheJagwonareprieve,which
wasgoodnews forthis,thesportiestVelar,with
whichitshares itsengineandplatform.Giventhe
faff ofredesigningthebulkheadto squeezeJLR’s
superchargedV8intotheenginebay, onecouldn’t
existwithouttheotherto giveeconomiesofscale,
thoughtheVelarwillbemadeforjustoneyear,
unlikethesoon-to-be-faceliftedJaguar.
To reducetheoverlapbetweenthese twobrisk
well-judged,givingtheVelarabeefierstance
withoutspoilingitssheer-sidedgoodlooks.The
changes arepracticalaswellascosmeticandhint
attheengineeringupgradesbeneath.Thenewfront
bumper,forexample,gainsbiggerintakes to feed
theV8behind,whiletherearoneaccommodates
foursubstantial,andreal,exhausttipsthatare
thevisiblepartofanewsystemthatsaves7.1kg.
Likewise,thenewforgedalloys,in21-oroptional
22-inchdiameters,save upto 2.5kgperwheelover
thecast equivalentsonothermodels.
TheSVAgainsthese weight-savingmeasures
notto offsetthemassofitsownbadges,butto
prove thatit’saboutmorethanlooksandextra
leather.It’salsogottheupsizedbrakes (395mm
front,396rear),fatteranti-rollbars andactiverear
SUVsfromthesamemaker,theJagistunedto be
snortyandaggressiveandgets theSVRbadge.
ThisVelar,meanwhile,ismadeintheimageofthe
treatmentappliedto thefull-sizeRangeRover,
whichattemptsto marryeasy performance
withhighluxuryundertheunwieldybannerof
SVAutobiographyDynamic.
Theluxbitiscoveredby athoroughinterior
retrimwithacres ofsoft quiltedleather,real
aluminiumshiftpaddlesandsundrymetaltrim
piecesthathave beenfedthroughaknurling
machine.Theoveralleffectissmartandtasteful,
evenwiththeoptionalcarbonfibretrimthat
features interwovenmetalthreadsforadded
sparkle.Theexteriorrevisions,whichextendto
newbumpers,sidepanelsandwheels,areequally
Driven
RangeRover Velar
SVAutobiography Dynamic
For a limited time only, the sleek Velar gains JLR’s 542bhp supercharged V8 thanks to an SVO overhaul
T