Range Rover Sport SVR vs. rallycross track
Stupid idea, brilliant fun
What could possibly go wrong...
It's all Mike Cross's fault too. Ever since the pre-launch teaser video of him demonstrating the SVR's talents via the medium of artful four-wheel drifts around Rockingham I've been keen to have a go myself. To the credit of Mike and his team of chassis engineers you do get a sense of this handling balance on the road, though big angles would demand space and denial. Scratch that; it'd require you to be a proper idiot.
Limbering up on circuit...
A greasy track with the lower limits of the Pirelli Scorpion Verde all-season tyres seemed exactly what was required. With the added advantage that if I did end up in a gravel trap I'd be in the right vehicle to haul myself out. Handy that, as it turned out.
If there's one thing funnier than driving a Range Rover Sport SVR on track it's watching someone else do the same. Fast SUVs aren't quite the novelty they once were but the SVR is still a Range Rover and there's something fundamentally wrong about watching it thundering towards kerbs, diving onto the brakes and then rearing up onto its back wheels and lifting an inside front as 550hp and 501lb ft do very odd things to the laws of physics.
The Cayennes of this world can be screwed down onto track-friendly chassis settings but the SVR still has to have the suspension travel necessary to do the off-road stuff too - 260mm front and 272mm rear in total. It's not as fast round the 'ring as a result - a Cayenne Turbo S pips eight minutes, the SVR is about 15 seconds slower - but it looks utterly hilarious. Under power the back end sinks so far you'd swear it's about to pop a wheelie, the percussive, bassy V8 noise almost louder from half a mile away than it is when blasting past and spraying gravel in your face.
... a brief pause for breath...
And from behind the wheel? Getting an SVR around a circuit is all about managing - and then exploiting - the considerable mass at your disposal. Powering through the long Lancaster bend and straight-lining the Wiggler chicane has you arriving at the tight left hander of Bishops with over 130mph on the speedo. At least if you don't slow sufficiently you've got the welcoming embrace of a soft, freshly ploughed field as an escape option.
Assuming there is life remaining in the brake pedal you can stand the SVR hard on its nose to get as much of that weight onto the front wheels as possible, this proving surprisingly successful at mitigating the understeer. Hydraulically actuated Active Roll-Control - beefed up for the SVR - works with the adaptive dampers to contain the lateral weight shifts and contrives half-decent turn-in given the forces at play. And once the nose is pointed vaguely in the direction of intended travel you simply unleash hell and let the Torque Vectoring by Braking nibble the inside wheels to pull the SVR into the turn while the active rear diff sends power to the outside rear to the emphasise the rotation. Sounds bonkers but it's not entirely unlike a two and a bit tonne Focus RS.
If you've managed the weight shift correctly and turned the stability control off, the momentum will permit a reasonable slide. The fact you can't disable the traction control means you're not given the opportunity to prolong it. We need to talk to Mr Cross and find out which fuse to pull before trying this again.
... to the main event!
Right, now time to throw in some dirt... Blyton's rallycross course is, truth be told, modest. Comprising a sweeping, gravelled diversion off the infield and a sharp turn onto the jump - it's run competitively in combination with a variation on the short 'road' course.
With Terrain Response set to Grass/Gravel/Snow and Dynamic Stability Control off you get a neat little graphic of when the centre and rear diffs are locking, the slackened suspension making the weight shifts even more lurid but the on-track slides less extravagant. Hitting the sloppy mix of gravel and mud it feels as if the steering column has been severed.
Suddenly I'm taken back to my Defender Challenge rally and the harsh lessons taught in using weight shifts and power as much as steering to alter direction. A lift gives just enough to the front wheels to gently steer into the bend and, once there, it's a case of immediately straightening the wheel and getting hard on the gas. Rooster tails of clart fly from all four wheels and there's an utterly weird sensation of the car travelling diagonally across the ground, V8 thundering over the steady patter of gravel on wheelarches. This is as brilliant as it sounds. And looks.
Should you find yourself here it's jolly good fun
What have we learned from this? That as well as being the halo product for the Range Rover Sport range, ambassador for the SVO division and general bully boy of the fast SUV sector, the SVR has real talent and is a giggle in a way few owners are ever likely to explore. Which is a shame. Because, once again, the SVR proves it takes being a bit silly very seriously indeed.
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Photos: Sim Mainey
Thanks to Blyton Park Driving Centre
Jesus christ is the first comment about Grammererer? It's a bloody Range Rover SVR on a RallyCross course. Stick to the Guardian Motoring comments section, sir!
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