The 542hp Range Rover Sport SVR has become the fastest production SUV around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, lapping the circuit in 8 minutes 14 seconds. The record was set using a standard production model, with a Land Rover driver behind the wheel.

The Range Sport SVR is powered by an uprated version of Land Rover’s 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine, which has been tuned to deliver 550PS (542hp) – a 40PS (39hp) increase over the standard engine.

“The Nürburgring is a benchmark for vehicle development and testing, and cars become stronger, more durable and faster over its 13 miles and 70-plus corners. We wanted to see whether an SUV could behave like a performance car in this challenging environment. The results are spectacular and the Range Rover Sport SVR has demonstrated outstanding on-road performance capabilities,” said Mike Cross, Chief Engineer Vehicle Integrity for Land Rover.

Developed by Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations team, the Range Rover Sport SVR is the most performance-focused Range Rover Sport ever. The automaker says this has been achieved “without compromising the vehicle’s class-leading all terrain capabilities or high levels of comfort.”

The Range Rover Sport SVR features a twin-speed transfer case to provide a choice of high and low gear ratios and the same 850mm (33.5in) wading depth as regular Range Rover Sport models.

The Range Rover Sport SVR will arrive in Land Rover showrooms in 2015. Until then, you can check out its Nürburgring lap in the video posted below.

By Dan Mihalascu

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