During our visit to Gaydon the headquarters of Jaguar Land Rover last month and with the reveal of the all-new Range Rover Sport SV, we noticed that it is now called SV and not SVR and lots of changes on the brand itself, branding and even the philosophy of what SVO, SVR and SV stands for, thus we sat down with the man himself Mr. Jamal Hameedi Director of SVO at Jaguar Land Rover and we brought you this.
Q: The last SVR was more dramatic in design and this one is more subtle and now it is SV, Why and what is happening
A: SV vs SVR, we kind of changed our branding just like on the Range Rover, so now the Land Rover is a trust mark so now it is simpler, cleaner and more direct, and even clearer, so now all our Range Rovers will have one logo and the same for SV, so just SV.
Q: Will we see another Range Rover with R badge like SVR in the future
A: This is it, the most powerful is now just SV.
Q: So now that it is just SV, and with the new branding, we only saw one SV badge on the car, shouldn’t there be more?
A: Well, this is now the modern luxury Philosophy, you don’t have to shout the brand everywhere it is more subtle, people who know the brand will know that this SV has more power than the SVR and even more technology than the SVR ever had, it is subtle, it is stealth.
Q: So SVR was more on the aggressiveness of the design while SV is more about uplifting the car from all angles whether tech, power, or comfort...?
A: it is not about shouting the brand anymore, if you know you know, when you see the car, you will say this is an SV it has the latest in tech and the best of the best from 6D suspension to body and soul tech, it has everything.
Q: Would you be having an SV badge on Long Wheel Base and 3-row Range Rovers?
A: Currently on the Range Rover, we will have the SV on the 5 and 4 seats on the SWB and LWB, and this is more than we ever had before, For the sport is comes only for the LWB and 5 seats
Q: What feature is the dearest to your heart in the SV?
A: well you are asking me to choose who is my favorite child, it is very tough but I would say the 6D system, like for example in the middle east you don’t have to compromise, you can change the car from a sporty suspension and be as stiff as a race car and with a push of a button you become soft as it gets, but if I have to choose I would say Body and Soul seat, no one has ever done that before and created that experience, and this feature connects to me not just on a car level but also helping people on a human level like if you are stressed it will reduce the stress so it has a little higher magnitude impact.
Q: We have seen many firsts on this car like first-time carbon ceramic brakes, first-time 23” carbon fiber rims, first-time 6D suspension, and body and soul. Is there anything else first time introduced on this car other than these 4 and would you be transferring these firsts to other cars?
A: I would add the edge-lit paddle shifters, but our mission in JLR enterprises we think of ourselves as the tip of the spear in product development so that means eventually everything we innovate if it resonates so much with customers then everyone wants it.
Q: Will the body and soul tech be sold to other manufacturers?
A: well, we did develop it for 4 years and we would like to hold on to it, but sometimes some manufacturers would come and say we would like to use it so we might license it.
Q: For the new design of the brakes, would that affect performance, durability, and maintenance?
A: now with the new design, it is better on all levels, so now we have better distribution, less heat and we don’t have high and low-pressure points so it is distributed evenly across all the pad and is excellent from the braking point of view.
Q: Was it tested in extreme heat and extreme cold and all the safety testing?
A: Full safety testing was done, you know the AMS brake fail test that goes into high-speed-stop high-speed-stop and is usually very hard to pass so this braking system laughs at it, and we went far beyond the AMS test and also we were using stock brake fluids.
Q: For the Carbon fiber rims, isn’t it risky to have the rims in Carbon Fiber, in case it got scratched or damaged?
A: There’s a repair procedure, so you can repair it and maintain the same pattern and rigidity, but this is on the scratch level not Impacts
Q: The engine is a BMW engine, and they have the same, do you ask them for specific output?
A: We actually developed this engine together, but they have their own applications, and we have ours, we have our own unique control system, and we do all the calibration here in England so it is a partnership with BMW.
Q: So you think 635hp is suitable for the Range Rover Sport SV because now BMW XM Label Red can produce 750 HP so will we be seeing a faster SV?
A: the current engine we are using has an excellent foundation for the car, our philosophy is now you can get 750 hp hybrid and 1000 hp EV even now an EV sedan can accelerate faster than a hypercar, so now everyone is going to have acceleration, it is not going to set you apart. So in the future and this car lays the foundation for that, if you want to be special you need to bring something to the party other than acceleration like hydraulic dampers and suspension… something for driving enjoyment so we thought this is a better engine than a plug-in hybrid for what we are trying to achieve with this car.
Q: What major markets are for the SV?
A: All markets are important but mainly UK, USA, Germany, and the Middle East
Q: Price range on the new SV
A: starting around 200 000 USD – 230 000 USD in the UK
With more than 15 years of Auto Journalism, Nabil has lead and founded several print auto magazines as well as Digital Auto Magazines throughout the years. He was the editor in chief for the best automotive websites in the region and presented lots of YouTube videos on multuple channels and TV.
And most importantly he has an unprecedented passion for cars since he was born.
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