But will the car live up to the hype? The omens are good. The Sport, as the name suggests, is lower, more agile and more road-oriented than the more stately, upright Range Rover relaunched last year, although it retains the impressive off-road ability a Land Rover must always display. Like the bigger car, the new Sport is made of aluminium, cutting an incredible 400 kilograms from its mass, to the great benefit of performance, handling and emissions. This new car is more obviously sporting in looks, with more fluid styling than the old, slightly militaristic model.
Not that buyers were in any way deterred: prior to the arrival of the more affordable, higher-volume Evoque, the Range Rover Sport was Land Rover's biggest selling model, outselling even the entry-level Freelander in 2012, even as it neared the end of its life. Much of that success was due to its huge and growing popularity in China, but the new model seeks to extend its popularity everywhere with a power-operated third row of seats for growing families, and the option later of a downsized, 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine and, in some markets, a diesel-electric hybrid, both made possible by the new model's much reduced weight.
Me? I'd still stick with the range-topping 510PS supercharged V8 petrol that will offer ballistic performance in the lighter car: its 100kph time of just five seconds makes it the fastest Land Rover ever made. And I'd be getting my order in just as quickly, to avoid the queues.
SCORECARD
Range Rover Sport Supercharged
How much? US$79,995 (Hong Kong pricing TBA)
Engine: 5.0-litre V8, 510hp
Transmission: Eight-speed ZF automatic
Performance: 0-100kph in 5secs, Four Wheel Drive
How heavy? 2,144kgs
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