RS Range Rovers being tested for increased performance

It has been reported that Land Rover are planning the release of a new series of ultra high performance Range Rovers, which observers have little doubt will add to the extraordinary success that the recent Sport and Evoque models brought with them.

Several ‘spy’ photos, published in this Autocar article, were taken at the Nurburgring motorsports complex at some point over the last few days, and show a camouflaged prototype edition of the souped-up Sport making its way around the track. This exciting range will apparently be given the moniker ‘RS’, and engineers hope that its launch will lead to the creation of a brand that drivers instantly recognise as representing the pinnacle of prestige large vehicles.

Although the Sport RS was the photographed model, it is thought that the Evoque will appear in UK showrooms first, with a tentative release date of late this year being predicted by industry insiders. Sources say that the new Evoque RS will retain its current 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine, but that it will generate as much as 300bhp once optimised.

The Sport, meanwhile, will probably not be available until 2014, but its proposed specifications are sure to convince eager motoring enthusiasts that its eventual roll-out will be well worth the wait. Incredibly, the Sport RS is set to boast the same hefty 542bhp as the comparatively lightweight Jaguar XJR, XKR-S and XFR-S lines, all through a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine that aims to facilitate a 0-62 miles per hour time of just 4.5 seconds.

One of the main reasons why the Evoque RS has not already come to market is actually a positive one: whilst plans for this new model are believed to have been in place for at least two years, production had to be delayed because the demand for the initial run of Evoques was so high that it was in danger of completely outstripping supply capacity. Now that a fair amount of time has passed since the first model was released, however, Land Rover clearly feels that the moment has come to seize the chance of setting a new standard for prestige 4x4s.

If your interested in a new or used Range Rover for sale then please get in touch with us, Romans always have access to the best and latest models.