2022 Range Rover Sport caught testing

Land Rover is gearing up for the launch of its new third-generation Range Rover Sport at the end of 2022 and these fresh spy shots have given us our best look yet at the new premium SUV. 

The new Range Rover Sport will follow in the tyre tracks of the fifth-generation Range Rover revealed in 2021 and we can see that it’ll carry over plenty of design language from its bigger sibling with the traditional Range Rover cues very much in evidence. The evolutionary design approach is not surprising given that the Range Rover Sport is one of the brand’s best-selling cars, with the previous version outselling the full-size Range Rover almost 2:1. 

The front upper grille and LED headlight arrangement on the Sport will be thinner than the Range Rover’s and more like that of the Velar.  The lower grille, meanwhile, is more angular and aggressive than the Range Rover’s minimal design. 

The rear lights on the new Range Rover were a major change over the previous model, being incorporated into a black panel that becomes opaque when the lights aren’t on. Although it’s unclear from these spy shots, we could see the same on the new Range Rover Sport albeit in a wrap-around layout. The rectangular twin exhausts are also a prominent feature and signify the extra sporting intent of this car compared to the Range Rover. 

At the side there are flush-fitting door handles like on the rest of the Range Rover model lineup and vent covers in the front wings. The length of the wheelbase appears similar to the old car’s, too, which would make it just under three metres long. However, the car’s front and rear overhangs are significantly shorter.

Land Rover’s updates to the interior will be extensive. Spy shots previously sent to Auto Express by Peter Siu provide a good look at the new Range Rover Sport’s cabin and infotainment screen. The car will feature JLR’s Pivi Pro system, with an 11.4-inch touchscreen, which will be used across the group’s line-up of next-generation MLA-based models.

Buyers will still have a choice of combustion engines on the next Range Rover Sport, but the big news is that the SUV is also going to be available with a pure-electric powertrain. Jaguar Land Rover has previously confirmed that it will collaborate with BMW on the electric drive units for its next-generation vehicles. 

The electric Range Rover has already been scheduled for a UK launch in 2024 – and we expect a pure-electric Range Rover Sport will follow closely behind, using the same EV technology as the upcoming BMW i5 and i7 saloons.

There’s still hope for petrolheads, though, as Land Rover will continue to produce the Range Rover Sport SVR, as hinted by the aggressive-looking prototypes in our gallery. What’s more, we also expect this model will take an old-school approach to performance, featuring the same twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 engine found in the BMW X5 M Competition.

The same engine is available in the full-sized Range Rover, producing 523bhp. However, given the Sport SVR’s racy brief, we anticipate it’ll get the full 616bhp that the engine is capable of producing, putting its performance on par with the fastest version of the X5.

Now read all the latest news on the pure-electric next-generation full-size Range Rover…