Design honchos at Jaguar and Land Rover have verbalised plans to expand the off-road specific SVX moniker, following the reception its Discovery SVX received when it debuted last month. For the uninitiated, the SVX badge is birthed by the company’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) unit, which signifies the most off-road-focused variants. The Discovery was the first to receive the treatment.
According to a report by AutoCar UK, the new SVX badge is appropriate for the Discovery model, as well as the new Defender which will be launched in the next few years, but less so for the Range Rovers. Jaguar’s design director, Ian Callum also said the badge could work on a Jaguar.
“We don’t talk a lot about the off-road ability of our cars because they’re road-biased. But they could have that capability as we have the tech in the group. I see the opportunity – if Land Rover can do SVR, we can do SVX,” said Callum, who introduced the brand new Jaguar E-Pace earlier in July.
Similarly, Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern said the Discovery SVX was designed to be premium, comfortable and durable at the same time, a direction the Defender will very likely follow. “We have to stop thinking about function in a durable way. When you’re buying into the brand, you’re buying a premium product,” said McGovern.
“It’s common to think of stripping down to basics when it comes to building extreme off-road vehicles, but I don’t think people want that any more. The ultimate capability machine will still be the Defender, but the Discovery SVX is equally capable,” he added. As the off-roading world anticipates the new Defender’s arrival, the Discovery SVX will momentarily help fill that gap.
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Yawn… still waiting for the new defender
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