Spied: New Range Rover Sport RS and Evoque RS Sound Pretty Aggressive

We first heard the rumors about Land Rover readying more potent and sportier versions of the Range Rover Sport and Evoque with the "RS" nameplate in the summer, and since then, we've actually scooped shots of the former in prototype trim. The Evoque RS, on the other hand, had remained hidden, until now.

A YouTube user who goes by the nickname 'fastsportscardriver' filmed testers of both the Range Rover Sport and Evoque RS models driven on the Nürburgring racetrack.

The bigger Range Rover Sport RS is believed to utilize the Jaguar-Land Rover group's 550hp 5.0-liter supercharged V8 found in a number of cars, including the the Jaguar XFR-S, while the more petite Evoque RS is rumored to be fitted with a tweaked 300hp version of the brand's already available 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four.

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Range Rover Hybrid Prototypes Complete Epic 10,500-Mile Silk Trail Expedition [w/Video]

Precisely 53 days after they started the journey in Solihull, UK, the three Land Rover Range Rover Diesel Hybrid prototypes have successfully completed the 10,472-mile (16,853-km) long adventure by reaching their final destination: Mumbai, India.

The Silk Trail expedition has served as “the ultimate engineering sign-off test” for Land Rover’s first hybrid before it goes into production. The route included 13 countries in hostile conditions including asphalt roads riddled with large and deep potholes, dusty desert trails in 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and countless miles of mud and gravel tracks and cattle trails.

The adventure was made all the more exciting for both man and machine by the river crossings, passes clinging to the edges of mountains partly blocked by rock falls, the “the dense and erratic traffic of Chinese and Indian roads” and the thin air of extremely high altitudes.

The route took the three Range Rovers through the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China (including Tibet), Nepal and India. For much of the distance the expedition followed the ancient Silk Road trading routes. To make the expedition even more worthy of the Silk Trail name, overnight stops were made in hotels, hostels and tents at many of the same staging posts visited centuries ago by Silk Road merchants, missionaries and mercenaries.

The Range Rover Hybrids reached heights of over 5,300 meters (17,389 feet) above sea level on the Xinjiang-Tibet highway where they spent seven consecutive days at altitudes between 3,350 and 5,379 meters (11,000 and 17,648 feet).

An interesting detail is the average fuel consumption of the three large hybrid SUVs – 36 to 37 mpg UK (30 to 30.8 mpg US, 7.84 to 7.63 l/100 km). The Range Rover Diesel Hybrid features a 3.0-liter turbodiesel engine linked to a 35kW electric motor, with a total output of 335hp and 700 Nm (516 lb-ft) of torque.

Land Rover engineers sent home more than 300 gigabytes of detailed technical records, as the purpose of the expedition was not to test reliability but to fine-tune the calibration of engine and transmission software to “ensure perfectly seamless performance in all terrains and extreme temperatures and altitudes,” according to the company.

By Dan Mihalascu

PHOTO GALLERY

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How Does the Range Rover Sport Compare Against the Porsche Cayenne Turbo?

The all-new Range Rover Sport is still, according to reports, not that sporty to drive, despite being lighter, faster and sharper than ever. It is then an improvement over its predecessor, but when it comes to its on-road behavior, tests suggest it still trails sharper, more focused machines of similar stature, like the Porsche Cayenne, which along with the BMW X5, are the class benchmarks for SUV handling on-road.

While it may be common knowledge that Porsche’s SUV is among the best to drive in its class, we don’t think that many people associate it with acceptable off-road capabilities, even though it has them, as it was envisaged from the start to be more than just an autobahn cruiser, like the X5. The comparison was made by Autocar’s Steve Sutcliffe, who pitted the Range Sport Supercharged against a Cayenne Turbo, driving them on track, on the road and off it.

By the end of the test, despite the fact that the Cayenne proved to be just as capable as the Range off-road (despite having the wrong tires), while being better on road in every respect, he calls the test a tie, arguing that it’s a matter of choice: one feels like a proper sports car on stilts, which can also go off-road, while the other is an evolution of the Range Rover Sport we are familiar with – if you liked the previous model, then it’s for you.

Nevertheless, after having seen this test, I’m all the more convinced by the Cayenne’s capabilities, and no matter what the video says at the end, I found that these two cars are not tied, and the all-aluminum British SUV is a highly-competent, but not class-leading vehicle.

By Andrei Nedelea

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