Since it is due time, Land Rover rolled up their sleeves and started working on the mid-cycle update for the company’s Range Rover Sport edition, and luckily spy photographer managed to catch one testing. As you are aware, the current version, gen two Range Rover Sport, was entirely new for the 2014 model year. Since the first generation had an eight-year life cycle (if we presume that the same case will be with the gen two), the second generation is due for the mid-cycle update in 2018.
Thanks to all the prototypes that could be seen in the past few months all showed that the Land Rover is working on a new bumper design that is adorned with a new shape for the air intakes and license plate support. On top of all that the grille seems to be revised as well together with the internals of both front and back light clusters. But similar updates that you read about here are also set for the flagship Range Rover SUV whose current generation was launched only a year before the Range Rover Sport. But this is not all from the Range Rover Sport. Apparently, its high-performance brother the SVR model has also been spotted in its updated form, but more on that one some other time.
This latest prototype of the Range Rover Sport also appears to be electrified version which is indicated by the warning sticker on the windshield. Now, you probably think that this is nothing new since the Land Rover already sells a diesel-electric hybrid version of the Range Rover Sport (and Range Rover) in certain markets, but this one is supposed to be an all-new plug-in hybrid model. Reports suggest that this one is using an inline-four gasoline engine for its internal combustion component.
If you recall, this tech could be seen way back in 2015 when Land Rover previewed it in their Range Rover Sport Concept_e PHEV. That concept had an electric motor put between the engine and transmission, and it was powered by a lithium-ion battery that was placed in the trunk and was capable of driving the vehicle on its own as well to help the gas engine during high-load situations.
These are pretty much all the changes expected in the engine lineup, meaning that the US spec engine lineup offered with 340 HP supercharged 3.0 L V6, a 254 HP turbocharged 3.0 L V6 diesel, a 510 HP supercharged 5.0 L V8 and a 550 HP supercharged 5.0 L V8 will remain the same.
