SV Bespoke Range Rover Sport SVR tracks the midnight run on time

As to be expected, a lot of emotion goes with being a motoring journalist, largely as a result of the vehicle you are piloting.

Celebrating our heritage…

With the Range Rover Sport SVR that recently arrived for the customary seven day stay, it was a feeling of initial saddens and anger.

Not because of the snarling 5.0 L supercharged V8 or the fact that the Sport, together with the full-size Range Rover, will be replaced next year by an all-new model. But because of what this particular model represents.

Unlike the SVR Carbon Edition colleague Mark Jones drove a few months back, this version is not your typical “mass produced” limited edition model.

ALSO READ: Land Rover splashes South African-inspired colours on Sport SVR and Velar SVA

As a way of celebrating South Africa’s heritage and diversity, 24 SVRs left the Land Rover factory in Solihull for the dark room that is SV Bespoke, the in-house customising skunkworks of Jaguar-Land Rover’s Special Vehicles Operations (SVO) division.

Here, buyers are afforded a limitless choice of speccing their ideal Land Rover or Jaguar in whatever colour they want. This is an option that filters to the hue of the interior and whatever trim piece or material they desire.

As a way of introducing SV Bespoke to the market, the 24 SVRs were each given authentic South Africans names and colours that represent certain aspects or features of our nation. And this is where that mentioned anger comes in with this particular SVR.

…but why an aspect that is broken?

Of those 24 units, 20 will look like this; decked-out in a black hue called Ligurian Black that has been coated with a satin matte sheen and fitted with the carbon fibre exterior package, a carbon fibre bonnet and gloss black five split-spoke 22-inch alloy wheels.

Even more inviting is the interior, finished in absolutely stunning red/black Windsor leather and garnished by carbon fibre detailing as well as the SVR Performance seats that optionally featured front and rear heating as well as cooling.

So where is the problem? Well, the name and what it stands for. Whereas three of the SVRs are all inspired by nature with the fourth paying homage to the Johannesburg’s City of Gold nickname, the remaining 20 feature the isiZulu name, Stimela sa Sebusuka, which translates to midnight train.

While nothing wrong on first sight, the reason for the designation ups the anger level as it pays tribute to the role trains played in the shaping of our country.

As is well known, the country’s long dilapidated rail industry received the final death sentence during the level 5 lockdown last year as rail infrastructure became brutally vandalised, trains torched and already ruined stations stripped bare.

Given that very little rail transport has been restored over the last twelve months, the Gautrain not counting, it seems almost disheartening as to why SV had chosen a once proud industry of our country to pay homage to when everything is clearly in ruins.

The train outside and in

After the week’s tenure though, the similarities started emerging. For one, the exterior and wheels, priced at an eye-watering R243 900, transforms the already brutish SVR into an imposing, sinister behemoth, similar to the massive stream locomotives of yesteryear.

Highlighted by the SV Bespoke badge on the B-pillar with the doors open, the interior, apart from the touches already mentioned, evokes a comparable feeling as it is certainly more Rovos Rail than Shosholza Meyl.

Priced at R32 700, the tweaks add to the expensive feel as the quality is top-notch. Aided by the illuminated ‘Built by Special Vehicle Operations’ treadplates, the Stimela sa Sebusuka also gets anodised red gear shift paddles and lashings of aluminium.

Like a train cabin though, not all is perfect. As comfortable as the seats are, the workings of the ten-inch Touch Pro Duo infotainment system is nowhere as slick as that of the new 11.4-inch Pivi Pro system recently experienced in the updated Discovery and Jaguar E-Pace.

In addition, the similarly sized lower display for the climate control, mode selector and Terrain Response is both fiddly to use and in typical touchscreen fashion, prone to finger print smudging.

Despite the long list of standard specification items, the additional features added a whopping R117 900 to the Stimela sa Sebusuka’s price tag, which saw the final sticker balloon from R2 627 400 to an outlandish R3 021 900.

As much as that constitutes “death-to-bank-account-by-rail”, the SV Bespoke fixtures still make the SVR cheaper than its main rival, the Mercedes-AMG G63. It could therefore be argued that it represents slightly better value as certain tech items in the Benz have also not been brought up to current standards.

Power that will please the locos

Where the SVR lacks for little is up front where the supercharged V8 will soon follow the same route as the steam locomotive.

In an unconventional comparison to the iconic Class 26 “Red Devil” that ran out of puff in the early 1980s as diesel and electrification took hold of the country’s railways, the wining V8 will soon depart. It will be replaced by the 4.4-litre twin-turbo bent-eight BMW uses in the X7, 8 Series and M5.

Aside from its age having been around in various displacements since 1996, the Jaguar AJ-V8 engine Ford had been making at its Bridgend Plant in Wales has not only fallen victim to the plant closing, but also the looming Euro 7 emissions regulations and inability to be electrified.

Like the ‘Devil’, which became the most powerful stream locomotive ever on South African rails, the SVR’s final stab, all 423kW/700Nm of it, is both violent, intoxicating, brutal and relentless.

Despite weighing 2.3-tones, the acceleration and response is so immediate that the adage, “pulls like a train”, makes for the ideal expression, all while being backed-up by an incredibly angry and addictive soundtrack.

Hooked to the sublime ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox, the SVR Stimela sa Sebusuka will get from 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and reach 283 km/h – figures the ‘Devil would surely have approved of in addition to the best indicated fuel consumption of 15.5 L/100 km.

Conclusion

An exercise in absolute opulence, while not the official SV Bespoke payoff line, is perhaps no better suited than to the Range Rover Sport SVR Stimela sa Sebusuka.

Despite the extravagant price it commands, it is not only a fitting send-off to the SVR, but also a heart-warming tribute to South Africa’s rail travel past. It combines limitless luxury with power, speed and comfort worthy of its midnight train name.