When Land Rover announced the ‘Stormer’ concept back in 2004, we all knew it would never make it in to production - it seemed just too ’sport’ a car for A Range Rover. But we were wrong - sort of. The Stormer did make it in to production as the Range Rover Sport. Admittedly, it did lose some of the edge that the Stormer had. And it was only a 4/5 door. Nearly, but not quite.

It has been rumoured for some time that Land Rover will eventually launch a ‘Proper’ Stormer, but that now seems somewhat less likely as the LSE Range Rover Sport Coupe is now close to reality, and it’s going to be available in Range Rover Showrooms soon. But there are only going to be 20 available in the UK. Want one? We can help!

An out-take from the LSE blurb reads:

The Range Rover Sport Coupe has been created by our highly talented team of designers and skilled automotive engineers. Based on the original Land Rover concept car the “Stormer” the Sport Coupe takes the Range Rover to an enhanced level of design, comfort and speed.

Every element of the Sport Coupe has been appraised and there has been no compromise. The brief to the design team was simple yet infinitely demanding… The best of everything.

One of the main criticisms when the Range Rover Sport was launched is that a Coupe version should have followed. LSE Design have now captured that design and have fulfilled and further advanced the Range Rover beyond compare.

An incomparable blend of power, luxury and in line with tradition the “Coupe” styling, equate to the ultimate SUV ever produced.

The exterior body styling design includes flared wheel arches, twin chromed LSE tailpipes, LED lighting and 22” LSE alloy wheels, contributing to its dynamic good looks. A full glass transformational sunroof provides an exceptional feeling of light and space.

This enhanced attention to detail isn’t confined to the outside, with sports seats trimmed in high-grade Nappa leather. The instrument cluster and the unique “Coupe clock” has been designed by the best engineers in the world, with a portfolio such as the Bugatti Veyron and the Bentley Continental, individualising the Range Rover Coupe interior beyond comprehension and to the very highest level of quality and workmanship.

Our bespoke design programme available to each commissioning of the Sport Coupe allows the customer to individualise their car, producing their own work of art. The combination of our extensive range, your personal tastes and the naturally varying appearance of our materials makes the Range Rover Coupe bespoke creation a true one-off.

The LSE Design bespoke programme includes sumptuous leather upholstery available in numerous colours. Fine wood and carbon trim and over one thousand exterior colour finishes, all of which can be used to create individual highlights or combined to form your ultimate car.

The Range Rover Sport Coupe comes with a full three year warranty. Servicing and warranty work can be carried out at your local Land Rover dealership.

The Range Rover Sport Coupe is currently available with the standard 4.2 Supercharged petrol engine or the new TDV8 diesel power-train. A 500BHP engine upgrade package is imminent and details of this programme will be issued shortly.

So if you’re looking for a Range Rover Sport Coupe for sale look no further!

But with only 20 available in the UK you’ll have to be quick.

As I’ve said before, ‘concept’ cars aren’t concepts anymore. They are the car makers way of saying “Our guys have come up with this. What do you think? Will you buy it?”. They’re not one step up from the clay models of old, but in most cases fully working cars. Sure, they may not have the mechanics (engines, gearboxes etc.) they will get in production, but most of them are at least drivable. And so it is with Land Rovers baby concept, the LRX.

Despite the ‘Green Nazis’ telling the world we’re all doomed, Land Rover go from strength to strength, reportedly having their best year ever in 2007. And justifiably so; they have a great range of cars, even if, contrary to what has become received wisdom, they are not as reliable as they should be (true, they have improved enormously, but it is reported that Land Rover make a big loss on every warranty they sell, so the motto is ‘Keep it less than 3 Years’). But the company has to look to the future, and the possibility that there are enough gullible people out there who believe all the ‘Man-Made Global Warming’ garbage, and run scared of running a 4×4.

There is no doubt that adversity is the mother of invention (just look at the huge technological strides made in WW2), and in many ways these are adverse conditions for motor manufacturers. The doom mongers have been saying for years that oil will run out (absolute garbage - there is more oil in North American shale and sand than in the Middle East, and with oil at $100 a barrel it is economically viable), making car makers look at alternate fuels. And the green brigade have been telling us we are making the planet boil by burning fossil fuels (more garbage - there have been no mean temperature increases in the last 10 years!).

So lots of reasons to look for new ways of powering vehicles. And that’s a good thing. Although I’m not naive enough to subscribe to the green doctrine, I am all for efficiency and cost savings. And that is the big positive of the situation. Cleaner, more powerful and more efficient engines (I like the more power bit best!). Just look at what Audi have done with their diesels. And Land Rover are going the same way.

The Land Rover LRX is a small (by Land Rover Standards) 4×4 with Hybrid power. But that hybrid power is being utilised in the form of a diesel engine and electric motor. It is being cleverly adapted to give even better off-road traction by using the electric motors to give jolts of power to individual corners of the car to aid traction. Good thinking, batman! That’s what I like. Lateral thinking. Yes, you appease the vociferous green lobby with lower emissions and better economy, but you deliver more power at less running cost, more efficiently. I knew if I looked long enough I’d find something I liked about the green loonies!

The LRX is only the second ever ‘Concept’ from Land Rover (the first being what became the RRS). I just hope this goes in to production unchanged. Yes, some of the mad interior ideas will go - they always do - but in essence this car is so on the money it would be sacrilege to change it too much. I’m sure the big wheels will go for the work-a-day models (but please, keep them as an option) and there will have to be a five door. But apart from that, please Land Rover, keep it as it is.

Look out for the Land Rover LRX for sale from late 2009. It should be worth the wait.

A few weeks ago I had a revisit with the Range Rover Sport supercharged. I hadn’t played since they first came out, so I’d forgotten how good they were. But one thing bugged me (well, two if I’m honest). It wasn’t as nice to drive as my Cayenne S, but more importantly I couldn’t get over the comparison with it’s big brother, the real Range Rover. So I thought that I would have a couple of days with a full size Range Rover with the Jaguar Supercharged lump.

The proper Range Rover really is a handsome beast. And big. Parked on the drive next to my Cayenne it looks very handsome and imposing - much more impressive than the Cayenne. And it is beautifully put together. The interior is very impressive and feels like it was styled by the guy who did the Aston Martin DB9. A wonderful mix of traditional leather and wood, but totally contemporary. It really is a very nice place to be.

The list of standard equipment is unbelievable, particularly when you compare it to the Cayenne. Everything from reversing cameras and air suspension to DVD screens and a great Satnav are included in the price. With the Cayenne even the air suspension - which you really do need to make the car work - is extra cost. About the only thing you need that isn’t included is the heated front screen, but it’s not a fortune. So the interior points go to the Range Rover as well as the looks points. Hmmm. Maybe I want one of these.

The driving position is even more imposing than in the Cayenne. You really are up there with the vans and lorries at the lights. And it’s now so quiet. Land Rover claim to have improved interior noise levels massively in the latest versions. And it shows. Apart from a whine from the Supercharger when you hustle, it really is impressively quiet. But what about the performance? Well, it’s certainly not up there with a Cayenne Turbo - far from it - but it’s as quick as the Cayenne S. And that’ll do for me. Much as I love the Cayenne Turbo I really don’t need that sort of performance in a 4×4. There are other cars for playing silly buggers in! But I do like to be able to keep up with anything I want and I do like to make good progress when I’m out and about. And with the best will in the world the non-supercharged Range Rover just doesn’t hack it. But this one does.

The one disappointment is the handling. It’s not as good as the Cayenne. By quite a bit. But it is vastly better than it was before Land Rover played with the suspension recently to make it more road friendly. It doesn’t feel like driving a boat any more - just a softish saloon. And it handles bumps and potholes with great aplomb. Which is pretty unusual for any car - never mind a great big 4×4 - as air suspension does have a habit of being caught out on potholed roads. Even the newer XJs suffer. But this doesn’t seem to. And it has big 22″ alloys as well.

I think I want this car. It doesn’t handle as well as I like, but the whole package makes up for it. And if I have the urge to play I can always borrow something more fun to drive. It’s too nice a place to be to not have it.

I think I’d better order one before the ‘Green Police’ make them illegal!

It’s quite remarkable how many Range Rover Sports we supply. There aren’t many weeks that go by without the phone going asking us to supply one. As often as not it’s the Supercharged model, but the oil burners seem to be a big favourite as well. So I thought it was about time to re-aquaint myself with the car. It’s been a while.

The Range Rover Sport, and in particular the supercharged model, is Land Rover’s answer to the Porsche Cayennne and BMW X5. The Cayenne stole the on-road thunder from both the BMW and Range Rover when it came along, so Land Rover needed to do something to fill the gap. And so the Range Rover Sport was born.

Based on the underpinnings of the Discovery 3, but with a Range-Rover look body, the Sport is a handsome-looking car. Much prettier than the Cayenne and the X5. But that’s no surprise. The Range Rover started it all (the luxury SUV market that is), and I think all our brains are programmed to see it as the benchmark in this sector. But the looks are a tad misleading. There just happened to be a standard Range Rover in the car park when I went out in the Sport, and side by side you do wonder why they did it. The Sport just looks like a dinky version. A mini-me. A baby brother. It’s disappointing. I’m not sure I’d want to spend the thick end of £60k to feel inferior every time I pulled up next to a real Range Rover in the car park. Hmmm.

But out on the road you soon realise exactly why they did it. You still sit up high. You do feel ‘above’ the rest. The cabin’s not as nice a place to be as the Range Rover, and there’s less room. But my oh my, it’s a much better drive. Gone is the feeling you’re driving a beautifully appointed ocean-going cruiser. Instead, you get handling and poise like you do in a Cayenne. But it’s not the same. In the Cayenne you feel like you’re in a 911 on stilts. You know it’s history is on the road. But the Sport feels like what it is. A very, very well-sorted drivers version of a Range Rover. And I have to say it does work very well. I’d forgotten how nice these are to drive. They turn in well, they grip very well and, even though you know you’re dragging around a huge lump, they do perform extraordinarily well. Not as well as the Cayenne or X5 (and definitely not as well as the Cayenne Turbo), but in the real world, and on real roads, you’d be hard pushed to put a fag paper between them.

So it comes down to what image you want. The X5 can seem a bit ‘bling’. The Cayenne is not exactly the prettiest of the bunch. But the Range Rover Sport does seem to be the best compromise. It looks good; it goes well and it’s very sure-footed. And off-road it has the edge over the other two (by a long way over the X5, but it’s a closer run thing with the Cayenne).

So now I understand. The Range Rover Sport does make sense. It’s a more sensible size on the road than its big brother; It has as much room as a mid-sized saloon; It handles like a well-sorted sports saloon (think Audi S6 or a sporty 5 series or E class); it looks good and it’s fun to drive.

The re-visit was worth it. I’d have one.