The Range Rover Sport SVR’s traction has been tested across multiple terrains in a unique challenge.

Powered by a 550HP V8 engine, and featuring advanced traction technology, Land Rover’s fastest vehicle has a 0-60mph time of 4.5 seconds. When the perfect traction offered by clean, dry Tarmac isn’t available, most sports cars will suffer off the line. The Range Rover Sport SVR however benefits from Land Rover’s all-terrain know-how. To demonstrate this, JLR tested the sporty SUV - on standard fit Michelin 275/45 R21 All Season Tyres - against everything from tarmac and grass to snow and sand. 

Land Rover’s Terrain Response 2 technology system automatically selects the appropriate driving mode to suit traction conditions including: General Driving, Dynamic, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud and Ruts, Sand, and Rock Crawl. The driver can also use the rotary controller on the centre console to choose a specific mode.

The SVR’s first challenge was the start-finish straight at Rockingham Motor Speedway. In Dynamic mode, Terrain Response 2 sharpens throttle response and changes gear at higher revs and also stiffens the Continual Variable Damping function within the vehicle’s Anti-Roll Control technology, to reduce body roll. With all of these factors optimised, the Range Rover Sport SVR blasted from 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds.

In the second test, the high-performance Range Rover tackled wet grass. In Grass/Gravel/Snow mode the throttle response is softened to prevent loss of traction and gear changes are smoother and quicker. The Traction Control System also intervenes earlier to prevent tyre slip, while the central differential is preloaded to optimise off-the-line performance. Land Rover's Experience East of England provided the perfect setting for this challenge where the Range Rover Sport SVR recorded a 0-62mph time of 5.5 seconds.

A quarry provided the ideal gravel surface. With the vehicle systems optimised to suit the loose surface, it registered 5.3 seconds to 62mph. To find snow the test car headed to Jaguar Land Rover’s winter test facility in Arjeplog, Northern Sweden. Here, the optimised settings and all-wheel drive system helped the SVR complete the sprint on a combination of snow and ice in 11.3 seconds.

The next switch of the Terrain Response 2 dial was to select Mud and Ruts mode. In this setting the air suspension is raised and the Traction Control System allows controlled tyre slip to provide better traction in slippery conditions. In typically British surroundings at one of Land Rover’s all-terrain testing facilities, the performance SUV logged a 0-62mph time of 6.5 seconds as its four-wheel-drive technology came into its own.

Pendine Sands at Carmarthen Bay in South Wales has been linked with speed ever since hosting the first world land speed record run took place there in 1924. That made it perfect to test the next setting on the Terrain Response 2 dial: Sand. Selecting Sand mode sharpens the vehicle’s accelerator responses to allow a quick build-up of engine torque. The vehicle also holds onto gears for longer and locks the central differential to help maintain momentum. The result was a 0-62mph time of 5.5 seconds.

The final mode on the Terrain Response 2 dial called for something different. Rock Crawl is designed to assist drivers when negotiating rocky environments and works in conjunction with the Low Range transmission, in keeping with the low-speed nature of the challenge posed by large rocks and boulders.

Rock Crawl mode softens the accelerator response to mitigate against sudden movements and provide maximum driver control. It also raises the air suspension, to optimise ground clearance. Using Terrain Response 2 the Range Rover Sport SVR successfully scaled the rocky 32 per cent incline.