Update: ‘Design’ section updated.
Real-world testing of the next-gen Range Rover Sport is well underway, and prototypes have been put on public roads in Britain and Germany since last year. The new Range Rover Sport could arrive about a year after the 2022 Range Rover, in the second half of this year. Featured is a spy shot passed on by ace car spotter and TopElectricSUV supporter Wilco Blok (Instagram: @wilcoblok).
Design
Evidence gathered from test mule sightings like Wilco Blok’s is a testimony that the Range Rover Sport will again assume the role of the Range Rover’s close sibling. The proportions and signature design cues are retained. Progress will be evolutionary, although that’s exactly what loyal customers would seek in the subsequent model generation.
The next-gen Range Rover Sport here is likely in the sporty SVR trim. Images: Wilco Blok/Instagram
Spy media of the next-gen Range Rover Sport’s front-end indicates a slightly curvy headlamp, which does not conform to the new Range Rover design language. Perhaps the disguise is purposely planted to guard the final design, but the finishing is way realistic to call these provisional headlamps. The radiator grille’s frame and inserts look identical to the bigger model. On the sides, the visibly short overhangs are clear indicators of the test mule being the Range Rover Sport.
Rear design
At the rear, the quad tailpipes suggest that we’re probably looking at the SVR variant. Another difference, though not as clearly visible in these images, could be the strongly tapering D-pillars on the Sport, a design feature that may remind some of the Range Rover SV Coupe that was not mass-produced.
Recently, Instagram user RangeRover.World posted an image that partially leaked the rear-end of the 2023 Range Rover Sport. It features a noticeably cleaner design like its big brother, with a fairly conventional look defined by the horizontal tail lamp that is shorter than the current Range Rover Sport’s unit. Plus, there appears to be a chunky gray/black panel linking the tail lamps, one that is probably a discrete, “hidden-until-lit lighting” like on the 2023 Range Rover. A “Sport” badge beneath the left tail lamp and quad tailpipes are also observable, with the latter suggesting the pre-production unit is a 2023 Range Rover SVR.
Interior
Extensive changes could be seen on the inside, although JLR designers may loop the classical SUV elements like the four-spoke steering, a chunky dashboard, vertical AC vents, etc. In one of the prototypes, Auto Express reader Peter Siu spotted a large central screen, which could be the 2022 Range Rover‘s Pivi Pro infotainment system that uses a 13.1-inch unit.
Safety
JLR is testing the 2023 Range Rover Sport with a mysterious circular object on the roof, and according to our friends at autoevolution, it is likely a LiDAR. The chances are that it is a new-generation LiDAR that is more compact and coming from the German engineering company Bosch. Bosch says that its first long-range LiDAR sensor “is indispensable” for SAE Level 3, 4, and 5 autonomous driving functions. It can work in both long and close ranges, and thus, it is suitable on highways and in the city. As the all-new Range Rover isn’t available with a LiDAR yet, we doubt the all-new Range Rover Sport would feature it at launch.
Platform & Powertrains
The RR Sport will be underpinned by the new MLA (Modular Longitudinal Architecture) platform. The MLA supports full electrification, and with a Range Rover EV already confirmed for launch in 2024, a Range Rover Sport EV should follow a year or two later.
The 2022 Range Rover is available with multiple electrified powertrains, and most of them could be inherited by the 2023 Range Rover Sport. Expect a wide range of 3.0-litre six-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines with mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid electrification options.
The plug-in hybrid variant(s) may have a 31.8 kWh battery pack like the flagship model, which has a pure electric range of up to 113 km (70 miles). Similarly, expect a 3.0-liter Ingenium straight-six gasoline engine combined with a 105 kW electric motor integrated with the transmission in the new RR Sport.
A report from Autocar suggests that the high-performance SVR variant of the next-gen Range Rover Sport will employ the BMW Group-developed S63 4.4-liter V8 engine. As the German automaker demonstrated in the BMW XM concept in 2021, this engine supports plug-in hybrid tech. So, it’s possible that Range Rover Sport SVR buyers will have an option to buy it as a PHEV at some point.
On the Range Rover Sport EV
The Range Rover Sport EV should borrow the BMW i7’s EV tech, says a report from Auto Express. JLR and BMW Group collaborated to develop new-generation Electric Drive Units (EDUs) in June 2019. An EDU consists of the EV’s motor, transmission, and power electronics in a single housing.
BMW Group led the development of the shared EV technology and commercialized it first. The fifth-gen eDrive or “Gen 5 eDrive” debuted in the BMW iX3 in 2020. The BMW iX and BMW i4 adopted the same in 2021. It is likely that the sixth-generation eDrive will debut in the next-gen EVs of 2025, riding on the BMW Neue Klasse platform. JLR wants the Range Rover EV on the market in 2024, and we assume the Range Rover Sport EV would follow quickly. Expect the pair to settle for the current, fifth-gen technology with improvements.
Price & Release Date
During the Tata Motors Q3 FY22 earnings conference call on January 31, 2022, Jaguar Land Rover CFO Adrian Mardell told analysts that the company plans to replace the current Range Rover Sport “over the next six to nine months.” That puts the launch timeline of the 2023 Range Rover Sport in the second half of the year.
JLR updated the current-gen Range Rover Sport in the U.S. for MY2022 in June 2021. With the MY2022 update, it discontinued the plug-in hybrid variant, and according to a report from CarBuzz, the reason is the semiconductor chip shortage, which is creating supply chain issues. It is safe to assume that the plug-in hybrid variant will return to the U.S. market in the next generation. We expect the company to offer the next-gen Range Rover Sport as a PHEV right from launch.
The next-gen Range Rover Sport’s prices could start at around USD 72,000.
Jaguar Land Rover electrification strategy
JLR is not planning an EV blitz like Volkswagen Group’s luxury brands, and it will gradually create a formidable EV line-up by the middle of the decade. Six Land Rover EVs (incl. Range Rover EVs) are in the pipeline, all due by 2026.
Addressing shareholders in the 76th Tata Motors Annual Report, Thierry Bollore, CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, said:
Reimagine will see us journey towards net-zero carbon by 2039. Both our brands will be transformed by electrification, with six new all-electric Land Rover models in the next five years and Jaguar completely reimagined as a pure electric brand, from 2025.
Thierry Bollore, CEO, Jaguar Land Rover (76th Tata Motors Annual Report)
Jaguar will transition into a pure electric luxury brand by mid-decade, and from then on, it will clash with fewer Land Rovers for a clear distinction between the brands. JLR’s long-term goal is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its products, operations, and supply chain by 2039.
Featured Image Source: Wilco Blok
Keyword: 2023 Range Rover Sport (Hybrid) – Everything we know as of April 2022