2014 Range Rover Sport could get an R-S variant - report

In a recent interview, Land Rover’s Chief of Chassis Systems revealed the company is considering a high-performance version of the next-generation Range Rover Sport.

Speaking with Car Advice, David Waide said “It’s one of the areas which the business can expand. You’ve seen this with Jaguar and its XKR-S edition. They’ve done very well with the R-S model … so there’s the ability to do those sorts of things with Land Rover product.”

Despite being more hardcore than the Range Rover Sport Supercharged, the R-S variant wouldn't be a direct rival to the Porsche Cayenne GTS. As Waide explained, "If you compare [the XKR-S] with the Porsche equivalents it’s not as sporty; it’s as quick, it sounds fantastic, but it’s also more comfortable.” These are undoubtedly the same qualities that the Range Rover Sport R-S would adopt.

There's no word on what would power the model, but the natural candidate would be the XKR-S' supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine that produces 550 HP (405 kW) and 680 Nm (501 lb-ft) of torque. This, combined with the new aluminum architecture from the Range Rover, would likely enable the model to lunge from 0-100 km/h in approximately five seconds.