New Range Rover Sport petrol hit with 12-month delay for Australia

Petrol-powered versions of the new Range Rover Sport luxury SUV have been hit with a delay of at least 12 months in Australia due to production constraints.

The latest Range Rover Sport was unveiled last May with the promise of first deliveries of a series of petrol-powered, six-cylinder versions sometime in 2023.

They were scheduled to follow the arrival of diesel variants – and a limited batch of twin-turbo petrol V8-powered P530 First Edition variants – in late 2022.

Now Land Rover has advised production of the first standard petrol Range Rover Sport variants for Australia has been pushed to Model Year 2025 (MY25) – which commences sometime next year.

It represents a delay of more than 12 months – and two years since the vehicle was unveiled internationally.

A Land Rover Australia spokesperson told Drive production of petrol Range Rover Sports was prioritised for markets such as the US and Middle East which do not sell diesel versions.

It is unclear if the petrol model range announced last year for 2023 arrivals will remain when it goes into production for Australia next year.

When the Range Rover Sport was unveiled in May 2022, the petrol model range was confirmed to include a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine in two power outputs, and a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 from BMW.

The inline-six would be available in entry-level 'P360' form in base-model SE guise, and higher-output 'P400' guise in the Dynamic SE and Dynamic HSE.

The V8 arrived in Australia as a limited-build First Edition in late 2022, but it was not due to become available in standard, full-production variants – the Dynamic HSE and Autobiography until 2023.

Drive understands less than 100 examples of the P530 First Edition V8 were made available in Australia, and all have been delivered to customers.

In the meantime, the first examples of the Range Rover Sport SV – the twin-turbo petrol V8 successor to the previous-generation Sport SVR – is due in Australia between October and December 2023, for Model Year 2024.