by Brian Byrne. A brand new Range Rover derivative, the Sport, goes on sale in Ireland in mid-May, at a starting price of €70,200.
The car, which fits between the new Discovery 3 and the Range Rover itself, will come with the same range of engines recently installed in the larger car - a 190bhp 2.7-litre V6 turbodiesel and two V8 petrol units, a normally aspirated 300bhp 4.4-litre and a supercharged 390bhp 4.2-litre.
All three engines are derived from Jaguar units, but extensively reworked for the Land Rover requirements.
A new ZF six-speed automatic gearbox is standard in all Range Rover Sports. There will be three levels of specification, all of which will incorporate Land Rover's Terrain Response system which provides a range of modes to deal with different on- and off-road conditions.
In style and feel, the new car is more dynamic than the Range Rover, and it is aimed at filling an obvious gap in the Land Rover range, as well as providing a path to bring a completely new group of buyers to the brand.
According to MD of Land Rover Ireland Dave Harpur, up to 230 units of the new car will be sold in Ireland this year, mostly diesels. He said there has been a very strong pre-launch interest, and in excess of 100 orders have been placed.
"Most sales of the Range Rover Sport will be conquest sales from other marques," he said. "Looking at the initial data, it seems that the Sport will do as the current model of the Range Rover itself did when it was launched, and take in customers from the car side."
