Electric Variant of the Range Rover Sport Caught for the First Time Near Nurburgring

Land Rover is preparing to offer electric-powered variants of its Range Rover models, with the Range Rover Sport EV joining the Range Rover EV and the Range Rover Velar EV spotted earlier. Our photographers caught the Range Rover Sport uncamouflaged, something we've seen earlier with the Range Rover EV in August and September, but not the Range Rover Velar EV.

There's an obvious explanation for this decision: the electric variants of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport will not differ visually from their ICE counterparts. The Velar, on the other hand, will be a completely new model, and Land Rover has all the reasons to keep the design under wraps for now. This is also reflected in the production timeline, with the former EV models starting their careers earlier next year, whereas the Range Rover Velar will have a longer development cycle.

Looking closely at the Range Rover Sport EV prototype, the most obvious distinctive feature is the partially enclosed grille that mimics the one found on the Range Rover EV prototype spotted earlier. The lack of an exhaust system at the rear is another hint that this is not the regular RR Sport. To confirm this, the yellow EV warning stickers are the clearest indication that a battery is powering this black SUV. Also, Land Rover made it even more obvious with the "Prototype Vehicle" sticker affixed to the front and rear bumpers.

The grille is not the only element connecting the Range Rover EV and Range Rover Sport EV. The entire electrical architecture is identical, including the 800-volt battery pack and the electric drive units. This makes sense, considering that both models are built on the same Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA), also shared by the combustion models.

Since the combustion model also features self-presenting door handles, the Range Rover Electric doesn't add anything to the aerodynamics worth mentioning. Even the prototype's wheels are regular ICE wheels instead of the usual "aero" wheels found on electric vehicles. This will hopefully change with the production model next year, or the Range Rover EV's efficiency will not be something to phone home about.

The EV variants will add a vastly improved traction control system, leveraging the electric drive's advantages. By controlling the electric motors individually, the Range Rover Sport EV can instantly distribute torque where needed. It's not a metaphor, as the carmaker claims the reaction time will drop from about 100 milliseconds for the ICE models to as little as one millisecond. This will make the Range Rover Sport EV an even better off-roader than the ICE model.