Bold. In April, Range Rover invited media and customers to a unique event: an exclusive Range Rover Sport drive day on and off road at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.

Over three days, invited guests drove every Range Rover Sport variant on - and off - one of New Zealand's premier race circuits with the massively powerful Range Rover Sport SV headlining the event.

Not many SUV brands would dare put their vehicles out on New Zealand's most challenging race circuit - especially with journalists at the wheel!

Range Rovers are undoubtedly the originator of the SUV class of vehicle (sorry, Jeep). That original Rangie, launched in 1970 and available in only one model (three door, 3.5-litre V8 petrol engine, four speed manual transmission, permanent 4WD with low range, live axles at both ends) changed the offroading world forever. It also ended up doing a lot of around-town work, beloved by lawyers, medical professionals, and in our family's case, by sports shop owners. My family owned a white 1973 Rangie in 1975 and - aged 15 - I had the privilege of completing part of my 'learn to drive' phase in it.

The Range Rover legend is huge, and fills books.

They were the first vehicles to cross the Darien Gap (no roads) in South America.

One tale stands out for me: serial entrepreneur Richard Branson (Virgin Records, Virgin Megastores, Virgin Airlines, and more) had a gen-1 Rangie four door as his family transport, and got tangled up in one of those mad high speed hundred-car smashes on a British motorway. When the smashing stopped, the Rangie had kept him and his family safe, absorbed massive impacts doing so, and all four doors opened as they should. Impressed, he ordered a fleet of Range Rovers to ferry VIP clients around.

These 2026 vehicles clearly are a world apart from those original 4WDs, yet the family lineage is clear and emphatic.

Today, a Range Rover has all-wheel independent suspension, electronic systems handling offroad crawling work, a range of six cylinder and eight cylinder engines with mild hybrid support and an immense tech and spec sheet designed to endow it with superb manners and capability in all environments.

For the first time in New Zealand, the complete Range Rover Sport line-up was assembled on track in one place, from the D250 SE through to the pinnacle MY26 Range Rover Sport SV, we experienced the full Range Rover capability spectrum first-hand.

There were three modules.

We were split into smaller, more manageable groups, shepherded by driving instructors.

Light off-road loop

My group, overseen by good bloke Stu Owers, kicked off at the circuit's offroad course, out to the east of the track itself. Here we drove Rangies over 'built' hill sections and axle articulation obstacles, then tackled a water obstacle reminiscent of the original Land Rover Jungle Track in England.

This was certainly a 'light' offroad experience, but here, we got to experience the Range Rover in conditions most owners will never dare try.

The current model range is every bit as capable as the 1970s three door original and in fact showed its wading ability to be somewhat more comfortable. The original was known to tackle water obstacles calmly, but did let muddy water in through the door seals when pressed. The current Rangie breezed through the water obstacle, which was deep enough that the front-end cameras gave us a clear view of the filth as we edged into the water.

Really, not much to report here. Nobody should be surprised that a Range Rover, despite now being a premium, luxury vehicle, can still handle offroad duties. The Rangies did everything expected and did it with typical aplomb, setting the tone for the rest of the event.

After we'd all had a couple of runs through the offroad course - and not once got our feet wet - we drove back to the pit area for module two.

Track laps

Easily the most challenging event of the day, module two involved fast laps of Hampton Downs, something I had never undertaken in a 2.3-tonne SUV.

It's a slightly strange experience, driving an SUV on track. Sitting so high, feeling the mass of the vehicle as it brakes and corners, and almost feeling as if it's a movie playing out through the front screen.

We were running in a group, slotting in through pit lane every lap and then launching down Hampton Downs' downhill onramp and onto the first straight. After a familiarisation lap to get the feel of where to brake and just how hard the Rangie could brake, we went quicker. I confess, I did hang back on the second lap to give the Rangie a flat-out blast out onto the track (sorry, Stu). Corner apexes are somewhat different in an SUV to a road car, that's for sure. In fact, on a couple of faster corners the apex is later in the corner in a  big AWD SUV than in a car. Fortunately, the organisers have marked the apex and exit of each corner with cones for the benefit of we media.

There were several Rangie models in this group, and my final run was in the MY26 Range Rover Sport SV. Peak Rangie.

The SV was the undisputed centrepiece of the event and rightfully so. Producing 476kW and capable of 0–100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds, the SV has its own performance-oriented 'SV mode'. Coupled with an advanced air suspension system, this mode makes the slippery SV into Range Rover's performance star. 

It opens up with a roar going down pit exit, and covers the first straight much more quickly than the others.

You'd expect that to be the case, given it's the flagship. But there's a difference here that is hard to express, really needs to be experienced. It corners flatter, brakes harder (I slowed down way too much in the right hander after that first straight). Sight lines are the same of course, but there's an adjustment to be made.

It's been a decade or so since I drove Hampton Downs fast, but this was simply something else entirely.

At the end of the track laps my heart was doing 100bpm (thanks Apple watch!) and I was breathing like I'd just hit a series of trails up at Woodhill on my mtb. Nothing to do with effort required, simply the huge dump of adrenalin into my system.

Dynamic drives

The final module was a gymkhana-style test on the circuit's front straight, and I failed. Kinda. Our group was pretty amped by this point and there was some competitive side-eye going on. I was nattering with Stu, comparing notes on the 'feel' of the various Range Rover models and the shattering capability of the Sport SV, so the others get their slalom-and-switch runs in first. There was some roaring of engines and squealing of tyres and I clicked what was going on. The lads in the group were locking horns in a  bid to 'own' the bragging rights. Tricky,because it was timed, and there was time added for every cone the driver hit.

By contrast, my runs were tremulous and slow, feeling the big SUV curve around cone obstacles so I was only third fastest. Until the cone-killing was added in, at which point I was top dog for our group and second overall. Not boasting, actually mildly surprised.

Conclusion

The Range Rover remains top of the list for on-road luxury and offroad capability. Now, though, it adds a third area of capability: track days. Kudos to Range Rover New Zealand for having the confidence in its product to create this unique three-discipline event to show what its luxury SUV can do.