New York show: Range Rover amps Sport with HST

RANGE Rover is adding to its already extensive Sport SUV line-up with a new HST variant that borrows a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 from the middle-of-the-range Jaguar F-Type.

Due to debut at the New York International Auto Show next week, the latest addition takes the Sport line-up to 14 variants, and will sit in the middle of the range alongside diesel SDV8 versions and a less powerful V6, and under thirstier HSE V8s.

In addition to its 30kW power boost over the 250kW V6, the HST gets “unique” chassis tuning, uprated brakes and a dusting of styling changes inside and out to set it apart both in performance and looks.

A black exterior theme complements the HST's Stealth Pack lights and Santorini black roof, while 21-inch or optional 22-inch wheels frame the bigger brakes.

Bonnet and wing vents, grille and fog-light trims are gloss black, while like its siblings, the Sport model name is spelled out in red on the boot and the HST variant name is written on each wing vent.

Its interior is trimmed in two-tone Oxford leather, while door trims, dashboard, centre console and roof lining are Ebony.

While Range Rover has not yet released performance figures, expect the HST to beat the 250kW HSE Sport's acceleration to 100km/h from standstill of 7.2 seconds.

Jaguar Land Rover senior public relations executive James Scrimshaw confirmed the new addition would be coming to Australia during the fourth quarter of this year and said it would balance out the number of petrol and diesel choices for local customers.

“It just gives you another option in between if you didn't want a base-looking car,” he said. “This one looks like the more dynamic supercharged V8 but a bit better on fuel and a bit better on price. It gives us a bit more of a range on the petrol side now.”

With the new arrival the Range Rover Sport line-up will extend to nearly 15 choices but Mr Scrimshaw is confident another option can fit in.

“You've probably got to to give it 12 months to have a look and its something our product planners look at a lot, but at the moment it's something we are going with for the 2016 model year,” he said. “We will see where the demand lies.

“While there are certain buyers who do like the entry-level but we do get a lot of buyers in the Autobiography and HSE models as well. It's really quite an interesting product in the amount of high-end vehicles we sell here.”

Pricing for the new variant will be announced closer to the local launch but the current Range Rover Sport range kicks off with the $90,600 before on-road costs TDV6 S and tops-out with the fizzy SVR priced from $218,500.

The new variant will accompany a number of updates to some of the other Sport options, with fuel-saving idle-stop standard on the SDV8 diesel engine, Terrain Response 2 is fitted range-wide and a 'gesture tailgate' opens by waving a foot under the boot.

Range Rover is also extending the list of customisation options for the 2016 model year with a carbon-fibre pack available amongst other extras.

The new HST will officially debut at the New York International Auto Show on April 1.