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For whatever reason, when a car company comes up with a high-performance SUV, it always gets it wrong. Lower, stiffer suspension, low-profile tires and aerodynamic body kits make sense for sedans and coupes, or sports cars, but those add-ons seem a bit ironic and wrong on an SUV. The BMW X6 M, Range Rover SVR and Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk are perfect examples tuned SUVs whose off-road capabilities are negated. However, the new Land Rover Discovery SVX was just revealed at the Frankfurt Autoshow, and it’s a shining example of how to get it right.
Instead of chasing pointless lap times on the track, the 2018 Discovery SVX gets all the right upgrades to make it better at going off-road. That is to say, it’s true home away from home is off-roading on trails and the unbeaten path. To make the new Disco fall in line with the type of overlanders that made Land Rover famous in the first place, its Special Vehicles Operations dropped a 518 horsepower supercharged 5.0-liter V8 up front, added an integrated rear winch for taste and mounted everything on a lifted body and suspension setup. Increased wheel articulation, a tuned Terrain Response 2 system and Active Roll Control only add to the Disco’s off-road capabilities. It’s best to think of this as Britain’s answer to the Ford F-150 Raptor.
