Here’s a sport utility vehicle that’s a whole lot more “sport” than “utility.”

Just as capable off the road as on, the 2006 Range Rover Sport has four-wheel drive with low-range gearing for such duties as rock-climbing. With either a normally aspirated 300-horsepower, 4.4-liter V-8 engine or a supercharged, 390-horsepower, 4.2-liter V-8, the Range Rover Sport is all new for 2006.
Not that the 2006 Range Rover Sport supercharged model isn’t suitable for utility purposes; it actually offers more utility than most other midsize SUVs. But with a supercharged 390-horsepower V-8 engine under the hood, the emphasis truly is on the sport side of the equation.

• Range Rover Sport HST most expensive yet
• £5500 for aggressive makeover
• Performance unchanged

If the standard Range Rover Sport doesn’t have enough road presence for you, this new HST version might be the answer.

Land Rover reckons this 385bhp, supercharged model is the closest thing yet to the Range Stormer concept of 2004.

The most expensive Range Rover Sport to date offered gets an aggressive makeover with open-mouthed grille, deeper air intakes, rectangular tailpipes, unique 20-inch wheels and tail spoiler.

For the extra £5500 over a standard Supercharged car, at £63,000, the HST also comes with an electric sunroof, privacy glass and polished oak trim.

Falling Hard For My Long-Distance Winter Travel Companion
March 23, 2006
by Trevor Hofmann / American Auto Press

I couldn’t believe it. The middle of winter, and despite being on the West Coast, where it tends to rain more than snow come March, or anytime for that matter, Land Rover had equipped its new Range Rover Sport Supercharged with stock performance-oriented summer tires. Large in diameter and ultra low in profile, 275/40R20 at all four corners no less, the hot looking Pirelli PZero Rosso Asimmetricos wouldnt do at all. I quickly made the appropriate phone calls that resulted in plans to go to an LR dealership and have the racy rubber replaced with more suitable tires.

We noticed this short piece in femalefirst.co.uk on the actor Paul Bettany who swears by his Range Rover:

British actor Paul Bettany insists on only driving his trusty Range Rover - because he fears for his children’s safety.

The Wimbledon star, who has a two-year-old son Stellan with his wife Jennifer Connelly and often looks after her son KAI, 8, insists there is too much danger on the road not to have a sturdy and reliable car.

Some observers reckoned we’d see the all-new Land Rover Freelander as early as this year’s Detroit Show, but it was conspicuous by its absence. However, the advanced state of the car in these pictures shows it’s close to production-ready and, instead, we now expect to see the finished car for the first time at the Paris Show later this year, and sales should start late in 2006.

It’s clear from the pictures that the new Freelander looks very similar to the existing model, especially around the nose where Land Rover trademarks such as the grille and clamshell hood are obvious, even under the camouflage.

Land Rover is showcasing a catalogue of innovative technologies – collectively known as the e-Terrain System – that reduce both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions while also improving the outstanding breadth of capability of Land Rover’s 4×4 vehicles.

The efficient technology initiatives are all illustrated by Land_e, Land Rover’s e-Terrain Technology Concept. Together, they contribute to a potential 30 per cent improvement in fuel economy over a current vehicle of similar size and performance. And most of the technologies will be available on Land Rover production models starting in the next few years.