Despite a slightly confusing name, the Range Rover Velar SV Autobiography has proved a likeable addition to JLR's performance portfolio. Largely, it must be said, by following the formula which has served the fast Land Rovers so well for so long: twinning the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 up front with an air-sprung chassis, and tying it all together with raked good looks.
However, as proven by everything from the XFR-S to the Range Rover Sport SVR, there will always be customers for whom 'standard' is not quite enough. - especially when it comes to the output of JLR's venerable engine. Manhart, traditionally a tuner of all things premium and German, is banking on history repeating itself, in fact, by producing a Velar SV600.
From a Velar SVA, Manhart takes the V8 and - no prizes for guessing this - gives the ECU a light cajoling; the result is 600hp and 553lb ft, healthy if not enormous gains from 550hp and 502lb ft. Given the firm's reputation for both the fast and the furious, this seems modest - perhaps there's something sillier in the pipeline, once reaction to its first Range Rover project has been gauged.
Additional mods include enormous (and not unattractive) 23-inch wheels, the decal set and a Manhart sports exhaust that promises even more blood 'n' guts thunder from the V8. Brakes and suspension are left standard, though Manhart says that "individual tuning options" are available on request.
The price? Well, depends on what you want. Each bit is available individually, so it would be possible to just have the €2,500 ECU tickle and nothing else, which does sound quite appealing. Those snazzy wheels will set you back twice as much, the decals are €1,000 and the exhaust is €2,890. Which sounds a lot; however, the video below proves it is at least quite effective...
Let's call it £10,000 worth of modifications, then, which is hardly inconsequential. That said, there are already cars in the classifieds with £10,000 off the new price, as the SVA continues that long-held tradition of JLR V8s not so much losing value as abandoning it entirely. So, really, that's £10,000 to spend on making it faster and noisier, right?
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