(January 24, 2017) MAHWAH, N.J. — In a unique testing exercise, Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) put the Range Rover Sport SVR through its paces completing a series of 0-100kph (0-62 mph)  sprints on a variety of surfaces including asphalt, grass, snow and sand. Using Michelin 275/45 R21 All-Season tires and the Land Rover Terrain Response 2 system — both of which are standard for the Ranger Rover Sport SVR — the test aimed to highlight the real world performance and inherent capability of the super-SUV in the same trim as it leaves the factory.

As part of this ultimate all-terrain performance test, the Range Rover Sport SVR was taken to six venues across Europe, each offering challenging terrain for the vehicle to tackle using its Terrain Response 2 system. When engaged, the intelligent system automatically selects the appropriate driving mode to suit traction conditions including: General Driving, Dynamic, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud and Ruts, Sand, and Rock Crawl. The driver can also use the rotary controller on the center console to choose a specific mode for the conditions ahead.

Merging Land Rover’s well-known on- and off-road capabilities with a specially-tuned V8 producing 550 supercharged horsepower, Land Rover’s advanced traction technologies help deliver not only the brand’s quickest vehicle ever, but one with unique real-world performance.

Since arriving in showrooms in spring 2015, the Range Rover Sport SVR has showcased the abilities of Jaguar Land Rover Vehicle Operations and has contributed to more than 285,000 second-generation Range Rover Sport models being delivered to customers around the world.

Many customers will have been attracted by the 0-100kph time of only 4.7 seconds, but the official figure only scratches the surface of the dynamic range of the brand’s performance SUV.

The times recorded as part of these tests are a testament to the inherent capability of the Range Rover Sport SVR. On a notoriously slippery wet grass surface, acceleration times from tarmac increased by only 0.8 seconds, the same on sand too.

The first challenge ahead of the Range Rover Sport SVR was the start-finish straight at Europe’s fastest racing circuit, Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, UK. In Dynamic mode, Terrain Response 2 sharpens throttle response and changes gear at higher revs. It also stiffens the Continual Variable Damping function within the vehicle’s Anti-Roll Control technology to reduce body roll. With all of these factors optimized, the Range Rover Sport SVR blasted from 0-100kph in just 4.7 seconds.

In the second test, the high-performance SUV tackled one of the most challenging surfaces any driver will encounter: wet grass. In Grass/Gravel/Snow mode the throttle response is softened to prevent loss of traction and gear changes are smoother and quicker.

The Traction Control System also intervenes earlier to prevent tire slip, while the central differential is preloaded to optimize off-the-line performance. Land Rover Experience East of England provided the perfect setting for this challenge and the Range Rover Sport SVR recorded a breath-taking 0-100kph time of 5.5 seconds.

In the third test, a quarry provided an ideal gravel surface, where the inherent traction of the Range Rover Sport SVR came to the fore. With the vehicle systems optimized to suit the loose surface, the Range Rover Sport SVR registered the sprint from naught to 100kph in 5.3 seconds.

To find snow the Range Rover Sport SVR headed to the Jaguar Land Rover winter test facility in Arjeplog, Northern Sweden. Here, the optimized settings of Terrain Response 2 technology, combined with the advanced four-wheel drive system in the Range Rover Sport SVR helped the SUV — on standard all-season tires — complete the sprint on a combination of snow and ice in 11.3 seconds.

The next switch of the Terrain Response 2 dial was to select Mud and Ruts mode. In this setting the air suspension is raised and the Traction Control System allows controlled tire slip to provide better traction in slippery conditions. In typically British surroundings at one of Land Rover’s all-terrain testing facilities, the performance SUV logged a 0-100kph time of 6.5 seconds as its intelligent four-wheel-drive technology came into its own.

Pendine Sands at Carmarthen Bay in South Wales has been linked with speed ever since hosting the first world land speed record run took place there in 1924. That made it perfect to test the next setting on the Terrain Response 2 dial: sand. Selecting Sand mode sharpens the vehicle’s accelerator responses to allow a quick build-up of engine torque. The vehicle also holds onto gears for longer and locks the central differential to help maintain momentum. The result of this technological wizardry was a 0-100kph time of 5.5 seconds.

The final mode on the Terrain Response 2 dial called for something different. Rock Crawl is designed to assist drivers when negotiating rocky environments and works in conjunction with the Low Range transmission, in keeping with the low-speed nature of the challenge posed by large rocks and boulders.

Rock Crawl mode softens the accelerator response to mitigate against sudden movements and provide maximum driver control. It also raises the air suspension, to optimize ground clearance. Using Terrain Response 2 the Range Rover Sport SVR scaled the rocky 32 percent incline at the test facility with ease.

Driver Darren Jones, Stability Applications Leader, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “The Range Rover Sport SVR is famed for its on-road performance, but this hasn’t been achieved at the expense of customary Land Rover capability.”