"The shiny new English Land Rover Sport barrels into showrooms and over most small mammals.
Stuff, 6/6/2005 By Marty Padgett
Vital Statistics
Price $69,750
The Goods Supercharged 4.2-liter V-8; six-speed automatic; antilock brakes; DVD navigation; Harman/Kardon LOGIC7 sound
Speed 60 mph in about 7.2 seconds; top speed of 140 mph
The X Factor A swift, upper-crust sidekick for hunting foxes of all kinds

All the world loves a Range Rover. The queen digs them—she's had one modified with teensy steps for her corgis and wounded peasants to climb up easily. Even jaded redneck car guys will dress up in full kilt just for the chance to tool around in one (but that was years ago, and I needed the money).

But as many props as it gets, the Range Rover gets no love for its strong performance. Cue the Range Rover Sport: a tighter, shorter, faster and more lascivious version of the world's finest sport-ute.

Thanks to a 4.2-liter V-8 engine supercharged to 390-hp perfection, the Sport guns to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds and tops out at 140 mph. It's the fastest Land Rover ever-so, not quite as fast as a Lamborghini, but quick enough to blow your kilt back over your head.

I pitched the Sport against a freak snowstorm in Barcelona, and even the locals could tell the difference between the big Rover and the lithe, lower Sport. With fender flares, 20-inch wheels and a sloping roof line, the Sport gives the impression of speed-like a latte-addicted Robin Williams- even before you get rolling.

Better yet, Land Rover has tightened its handling. Like BMW's X5, the Sport is meant for carving up mountain passes on—and off—road, thanks to the Hill Descent Control and the Terrain Response four-wheel-drive systems. Once you do take a turn into the bush, a nifty air suspension raises the height of the vehicle at the touch of a button to better manhandle the landscape.

Should we talk about the cockpit now? Let's. There's a six-speed automatic, but you can shift the gears manually, if that's your kick. Massive Brembo front brakes and six air bags will protect everyone involved in your vehicular shenanigans. The standard bi-xenon headlamps track along with the direction of the car, and the adaptive cruise control uses radar to keep you following the car ahead of you at a decent pace, leaving you time to shove fresh pimentos into your martini olives.

If the Sport offends your delicate sensibilities, you can go a bit more conservative. The Sport HSE model has a 4.4-liter V-8 with "only" 300 ponies. And just as there'll always be an England, there'll always be a bigger Range Rover to carry royalty to dental appointments."[Via stuffmagazine.com]

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