Manhart liberates 800hp from Range Rover Sport SV

Manhart specialises in BMW tuning; the SV has a BMW engine - you can see how they got there...

By PH Staff / Thursday, 30 October 2025 / Loading comments

While there are one or two drawbacks around the silliest Range Rover Sports using a BMW engine rather than the old supercharged V8 - sound being the primary one - it does open up some advantages as well. There are the fuel economy benefits for starters, plus there’s the tuning potential offered up by a twin-turbo setup; no need for a shorter pulley or such to liberate extra horsepower when gains are so easily achievable via a software tweak. It’s that kind of potential which Manhart, unsurprisingly, is already taking advantage of.

As BMW folk primarily, the 4.4-litre N63 will have been familiar to Manhart long before the SV’s introduction, which might be why this upgrade hasn’t taken too long. 805hp is the headline output, a healthy 170hp over the standard SV’s max power, which required nothing more than a new exhaust and Manhart’s box of software tricks known as MHtronik. There’s the small matter of more than 700lb ft, too - 708 to be precise, another chunky uplift from the standard car, which is rated at 553lb ft. That’s some going from software and an exhaust, demonstrating just what headroom is in the old V8.

That is unlikely to prove a problem for the standard chassis given its 6D-furnished knack for boggling your mind, though Manhart will also provide a lowering kit that furnishes the SV with new coupling rods if you really want to sit closer to the road. The tuner describes the resulting relationship with its 24-inch forged rims as a ‘snug fit’ - which is likely putting it mildly given previous experience of the flagship in standard trim.

In fact, it is telling that Manhart has chosen to tinker with precious little else about the SV, Land Rover’s stylistic choices already nudging well into ‘bling’ territory. Consequently, the eagle-eyed might spot the livery kit and branded floor mats— but otherwise the firm has wisely considered the already liberal application of carbon fibre (outside) and leather (inside) appropriate enough for its purposes. Assuming you forgo the reduction in ride height (which you should), Manhart’s idea of an SV is basically an SV with more than 800hp and a chunkier stainless steel exhaust. All things being equal, that might be just the ticket…