There are several fast 4x4s nowadays. And Range Rovers have been plenty fast ever since they started sticking superchargers on their V8s about a decade ago. However, someone gave Land Rover the bright idea that they should start their own “performance” badge, like BMW’s M and Mercedes’ AMG. Frankly, we’re wondering why they didn’t think of it sooner.
Does an SUV belong on a racetrack? There are several German brands trying to answer that question, but their offerings are so compromised in the pursuit of Nurburgring lap records that they hardly qualify as SUVs. And then there’s the new 2015 Range Rover Sport SVR, which set its own ‘Ring record for SUVs, however briefly it held. The difference between the SVR and other super-SUVs is that it can still go offroad. We drove one of these battering rams at a media event in New York last month.