Range Rover Sport First Edition (L320) | Spotted
It's now 20 years since the Sport first hit the road - what finer way to mark the occasion?
Just in case you were over 2005 being 20 years ago, here’s something else to really hammer the point home. Sorry, not sorry, and all that. The Range Rover Sport is now 20, launched to much fanfare in 2005 and, well, laying a track for the success story that would follow. If cars like the BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne had stolen a march on Land Rover creating something beneath a full-fat Range, the constant evolution of the Sport has ensured lost time was heartily made up for. More than 400,000 of the original L320s were made from ‘05 to 2013, and before production of the L494 successor was wrapped up in 2022 the million milestone had been passed. Even with the current L461 a more expensive Sport prospect than ever, they proliferate on UK roads.
So like it or loathe it, the Sport is a hugely significant SUV. Without its enormous success, it’s hard to imagine the Range Rover badge being applied to smaller models like the Velar or Evoque, or even sportier stuff like the SVR. The decision to broaden the Range Rover portfolio - to the extent that it would become a brand in its own right - was emphatically vindicated a long time ago.
But with so many of them sold over the years, there are plenty of Range Rover Sports to wade through to find decent ones. A bit like the cheap Bentley Continental GT featured last week, the L320 Sport is one of those cars that has acquired over time a - how to be delicate - less than desirable image, and yet remains quite a handsome beast in the right spec. Take this First Edition, for example. Inspired by the incredible Stormer concept of 2004, there were just 85 produced for the UK in the first year. Information on them is pretty scarce, though the ad suggests that Vesuvius Orange like the concept was the only colour available and they came loaded with standard kit.
Plus there was the V8, of course. Maybe other engines were offered with First Ed spec (answers welcome, as ever), though it's with the supercharged 4.2 that you'd be getting the full hit of the fruit. This one has it, all 390hp of it, and with a full service history speaking to its upkeep. And while there are one or two improvements another owner might wish to undertake - throwing the side steps in a skip, for example - the overall condition looks smart. Certainly a car that seemed so aggressive once upon a time has mellowed.
The interior is a true button fest, though again has stood up well to 100,000 miles of use - just the three owners may well have helped that. And usability will surely go through the roof with an infotainment upgrade to hook up your phone properly. The current MOT was passed first time, without advisory, just this month.
Now, clearly, a Range Rover Sport of any stripe is going to cost a heck of a lot to run, let alone a 20-year-old V8 one. But the same is true for all of the super SUVs, and in its favour this one has the slightly more affordable tax band and a sub-£10k asking price. £9,990 isn’t the cheapest Sport out there - they’re down at Shed money for the truly courageous - but you won’t pay much less for an L320 you’ll actually want. And all the money spent will feel very well invested when thundering along in a Vesuvius Orange Range Rover feeling like a boss - or a BO55, rather.
SPECIFICATION | RANGE ROVER SPORT FIRST EDITION
Engine: 4,196cc, supercharged V8
Transmission: 6-speed automatic, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 390@5,750rpm
Torque (lb ft): 405@3,500rpm
MPG: 17.8
CO2: 374g/km
Year registered: 2005
Recorded mileage: 103,000
Price new: c. £60,000
Yours for: £9,990
They were certainly hugely popular oik mobiles but as Audemars never understood, if one is seeing an endless flow of scummy people it's just because one has chosen to live in a scummy place.
While I'm sure the orange paintwork will make it slightly attractive to Planet Thanet, parts of Essex, Yorkshire or South Wales, it's a great bit of fun even for non hole dwellers. Haggle hard and you've got a fantastic V8 soundtrack in a useful van that also hustles pretty well.
No harm in setting it as a starting point for negotiations. What that £10k Is really saying is that the dealer has added a slug to seek to compensate from the inevitable after sales cost potential as well as indicating they want more than the £3-5k norm for 20 year old discos in a frock. But that's the key, it's a disco, you just obtain replacement parts from the many discos being dismantled.
If the metalwork is sold and the engine sound then it is a car that can be maintained at home by those that can.
For the folks who just use stuff for show and have no practical ability other than the extreme skill of spending all Saturday shopping like a girl then I think you'd be mad to go anywhere near an old Sport as the bills for the basic fixes will be miserable but for folks with the time and desire to deal with it themselves is not really much of an issue.
Maybe an enthusiast who has the time/skill/patience to address the ‘whack a mole’ stream of niggles but too expensive.
Sadly, I think it will end up as bright orange garden furniture.
They were certainly hugely popular oik mobiles but as Audemars never understood, if one is seeing an endless flow of scummy people it's just because one has chosen to live in a scummy place.
While I'm sure the orange paintwork will make it slightly attractive to Planet Thanet, parts of Essex, Yorkshire or South Wales, it's a great bit of fun even for non hole dwellers. Haggle hard and you've got a fantastic V8 soundtrack in a useful van that also hustles pretty well.
A well maintained 5.0sc is a great car and more capable than you may think. Interior room and design aside, it’s the best version of the discovery they made
I’ve driven all the V8 RR/LR variants of that era and the supercharged L320 is one of my favourites.
A well maintained 5.0sc is a great car and more capable than you may think. Interior room and design aside, it’s the best version of the discovery they made
I’ve driven all the V8 RR/LR variants of that era and the supercharged L320 is one of my favourites.
Plus they also got the engine that the Discovery 3/4 should have always had, which was the 3.6 TDV8 - although there are companies that do turnkey conversions...
Front arch makes the bumper look like wobbly fibreglass tat.
Also, scummy dealer trick of obscuring the number plate so no checking the MOT history.
Stereotypes (both cart dealer, and RRS driver) exist for a reason.
It's not just a hard pass, but a swerve so strong I'd flip the car.
Main issue most suffer from here is trim spec. Light wood and clashing leather.
I own a garage (hence further love for this era RR’s
). We have a customer with a high spec black one with piano black wood and black leather, no window tints, it looks decent. Fastidiously maintained and drives perfectly too. My current plan is to get a cheap one as a donor and rebody it with a classic 3dr. Chieftain used the shortened chassis for their first cars but I want to retain the 5.0sc.
I remember the ads and magazine articles with the orange V8.
I also remember the Stormer concept.
I'm not the only one.
That's probably enough.
Is it a future classic? Yes, IMHO as much as the clientele have jaded our opinion it pretty much made the SUV sector what it is and are actually nice cars to drive.
When the council estate rubbish has all been scrapped the few that remain will attract attention at a classic car show, and the ones that survive will be the ones that were kept original and tidy.
Plus they also got the engine that the Discovery 3/4 should have always had, which was the 3.6 TDV8 - although there are companies that do turnkey conversions...
Main issue most suffer from here is trim spec. Light wood and clashing leather.
I own a garage (hence further love for this era RR’s
). We have a customer with a high spec black one with piano black wood and black leather, no window tints, it looks decent. Fastidiously maintained and drives perfectly too. My current plan is to get a cheap one as a donor and rebody it with a classic 3dr. Chieftain used the shortened chassis for their first cars but I want to retain the 5.0sc.
That Chieftan was a really interesting project. One of these with a three door shell would certainly be excellent fun and a great project.
Worth noting that the dash from a Silver Shadow fits almost perfectly in a Classic. Might add that perfect finishing touch.
A clean well looked after 4.2 or 5.0 SC would be my only choice if I was ever looking to get one.
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