With the Range Rover Evoque launched and enjoying strong sales (so the JLR folks assure us), it seems a performance version could be on the cards.
Land Rover has of course made nothing official as yet, but a PH mole we chatted to over dinner at a Land Rover event recently (at that point masquerading as Evoque program director David Mitchell) admitted (with a wry smile) that the Evoque could "easily handle more power".
Certainly more than is offered in the 240bhp 2.0-litre turbo Si4' - currently the fastest variant. We'd tend to agree...
The PH mole. Now working at JLR
And the powerplant? Well, our mole reckons a tweaked version of Ford's 2.0-litre turbocharged EcoBoost motor, which will power the new Focus ST and is expected to make around 350bhp in the next Focus RS, is an obvious contender.
Combined with the Evoque's penchant for a four-wheel drift (see Chris-R's road test), a more powerful engine should make for an agreeable hoon-machine...