Range Rover SV Coupe

The old saying that less is more has been taken up enthusiastically by Range Rover which has released its fastest and most luxurious ever model but removed two of its doors.

The SV Coupe, released publicly for the first time at the Geneva motor show, is based on a full-sized Range Rover SUV but has the unusual body style of a two door - just like the original that pioneered the luxury SUV.

Built by the company’s SVO division away from the main Land Rover factory in the UK, the SV Coupe shares only its bonnet and tailgate with its four door sibling, with every other body panel changed for dramatic effect.

SVO will built a total of 999 examples, each individually specified by their owner who in the UK will pay a minimum 240,000 pounds (or AUS$430,000), not including options.

It will also be available in Australia to special order and although no local pricing has been announced, it difficult to see it dipping much below half a million dollars.

For that, buyers will get a five-metre plus SUV with Range Rover’s full suite of off road abilities, seating for four and two doors that have been lengthened to fit the shape.

“The Range Rover SV Coupe is a celebration of the Range Rover bloodline. With a dramatic two-door silhouette, this breath-taking four seat coupe alludes to its unique heritage while being thoroughly modern and contemporary,” Land Rover’s design director Gerry McGovern said at its unveiling.

Two door Range Rovers are nothing new with the original vehicle released in the early 1970s being configured thus. And while the SV Coupe could be seen as an homage to that first Rangie, according to SVO chief John Edwards the new vehicle is a very modern vehicle.

“The original Range Rover had to be a two-door through necessity and that’s pretty much where the comparison ends,” he said.

As well as a unique profile with an accent line swooping away from the vents in the front wings, the SV Coupe also gets its own front and rear bumper profiles and a two-part grille.

Power comes from a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 pushing out 416kW of power and 700Nm of torque, enough to propel the two-door Rangie to 100km/h in 5.3 seconds on its way to a 266km/h top speed.

Range Rover also says the air suspension has been tuned for a “more driver-focused edge” and has been lowered by eight millimetres compared with the four door. It will be available with 23-inch wheels as an option (a first for Range Rover) if the standard 21-inch alloys aren’t seemingly enough to fill out the wheelarches.