The 2023 Range Rover Sport has Porsche’s Cayenne in its crosshairs and our spy photographers have caught it training for battle near Porsche’s second home, Germany’s Nürburgring circuit. Unlike earlier spy shots, this latest batch shows the third-generation Range Sport in broad daylight, meaning we get our clearest idea yet of how the final car will look. Dual filler flaps indicate that this is a PHEV variant that could be capable of up to 113 km of electric driving.
Though every panel is covered in
obligatory camo swirls, the shape of the bumpers, lights, grille, and lower
vents are all identifiable. Compared with its new 2022 Range Rover brother,
which was revealed last fall, and will hit showrooms later this year, the Sport
appears to have slimmer LED headlights and a shallower grille, while the lower
grille shape is less straight and punctuated by small aero blades, underlining
its role as the most dynamic member of the Land Rover/Range Rover family.
The view at the rear isn’t so clear,
thanks to an extra helping of disguise. But it looks like the Sport will get
horizontal corner light units rather than the 1970s porn star ’tache style of
lamps seen on the latest Range Rover that extend across the trunk lid and drop
down the sides of the rear hatch. The profile images show that the Sport adopts
the same recessed door handle style seen on cars like the Evoque and Range
Rover, but not featured on the more utilitarian Defender and Discovery.
These images don’t give us a look inside
the cabin but we’re expecting to see a focus on minimalist design but with
plenty of high-quality materials, closely following a template laid down by the
2022 Range Rover. The Sport could also be equipped with its big brother’s
13.7-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.1-inch Pivi Pro infotainment
system. Engine options are also likely to mirror those in the full-size Range
Rover, so bank on being offered a choice of six-cylinder and BMW-sourced
4.4-liter V8 combustion engines delivering up to 523 hp and 749 Nm of torque, with a 617 hp SVR crowning the lineup.
Certain markets may also get diesel
options, but the new PHEVs are likely to be far more popular given what we know
about the new 2022 Range Rover plug-ins. Offered in two trims, the 434 hp P440e and the 503 hp P510e, the Range Rover PHEVs
combine a 38kWh lithium-ion battery with a 105kW electric motor and a 3.0-liter
inline-six-cylinder engine. The more powerful model can get from 0-96
km/h in just 5.3 seconds and achieve an impressive 113 km of
electric driving.