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RANGE ROVER SPORT SVR You don’t have to be in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Slovenia or Switzerland to relish a thrilling Alpine drive, particularly when you want to add extra capability to the mix. Onelife ventured to St Austell, Cornwall, in the south west of the UK to take on the ‘Cornish Alps’ – white-topped mountainous spoil heaps and deep moon-like pits created by over 200 years mining some of the best china clay in the world. It’s a fitting environment to put the new Range Rover Sport SVR through its paces, as the high grade ‘white gold’ extracted from the region is in constant demand for specialist premium applications, from superior paper finishes and quality materials production to castings for precision engineering. Indeed, excellence in design and engineering is at the heart of the world’s most dynamic and capable luxury SUV. As you’d expect, the team at Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) has gone above and beyond simply scrutinising a few elements – their latest labour of love is a true progression where everything on the car has been evaluated and improved where possible. CONNECTED CONFIDENCE To fully explore these enhancements, Onelife needed someone with extensive experience of the previous Range Rover Sport SVR, as well as the seasoned skills to get to grips with the challenging location. Enter Ian Kitching, Global Lead Instructor for Land Rover Experience with over 32 years demonstrating Land Rover vehicles in all conditions on every conceivable terrain and surface. It’s the first time Ian’s been acquainted with the new SVR, so he’s understandably eager to jump in. As soon as he settles in the cockpit and gets hands on with the unique leather-rimmed steering wheel, his initial impression is that it’s a driver’s vehicle through and through. “I instantly get a commanding sense of connection and control. Just sitting in the race-look seat gives me confidence that makes me want to explore the SVR’s dynamic handling potential,” he says. In fact, the front seats are a key difference of the new model. Fully adjustable, these sculpted, figure hugging, weight-saving and solid-backed performance seats also set new levels of comfort, with heating and a new optional cooling function built in. Looking around the luxurious interior, there’s a raft of meticulous SVR-only details, such as satin brushed aluminium trim and, if you open the new additional glovebox, you'll find the handbook with its exclusive embossed leather cover. 57