Heist Almighty

The lairiest version of the Range Rover Sport retains a strong whiff of getaway car

- Chris Chilton

FORGET THE COSTA DEL CRIME. BRITISH villains are increasingly choosing to relocate to the Algarve, according to a popular British tabloid. And if that is true, then there must be more than a few examples of the old Range Rover Sport SVR floating around Portugal's southern coast.

The SVR was a proper thug's car. Great to drive, it was chintzier than a footballer's wedding on the inside and boasted of a supercharged V8 soundtrack on the outside a nightmare when you were trying to fly under the radar on plod's dartboard, it did at least do a nice line in menacing.

While Portugal might have become more popular with criminals, it has also become more popular with legit millionaires thanks to its Golden Residence Permit Program that lets rich foreigners buy EU citizenship via investment. It is these peoplethe kind who work for banks or own them, rather than rob them that Land Rover is aiming for with the SVR's replacement, the new Range Rover Sport SV.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that in dropping the "R" from the SV badge the new Sport is any less expensive or capable. You would be wrong on both counts. The old car cost £93.450 (Rs 98.12 lakh, at current conversion rates) when I wrote the first drive in 2015 and, though the price had swollen to £99,675 (Rs 1.05 crore) when it was pensioned off in 2022, that seems almost like Evoque money compared with the £171,460 (Rs 1.80 crore) being asked for the new SV First Edition. For a bit of context, a Bentley Bentayga V8 costs £172k (Rs 1.81 crore), although it is hardly a performance SUV, but Lamborghini's £185k (Rs 1.94 crore) Urus is and so is the £179k (Rs 1.88-crore) Aston Martin DBX. Can a Range Rover Sport, an SUV traditionally viewed as a BMW X5 rival, really cut it with the big boys?