A wealth of changes grace Land Rover's Range Rover Sport for 2010, enough to warrant calling it a complete redesign, including two new engines, a suspension redesign, and a visual refresh inside and out. Most notable are the two brand-new 5.0-liter V8 engines, the first developed from the outset in conjunction with Jaguar, with your choice of induction in the form of a supercharger or natural aspiration. The supercharged V8 produces 510 hp and will propel the Range Rover sport to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds from a standstill, while the naturally aspirated engine will make the same jaunt in 7.2. Both engines come standard with a revised six-speed automatic and have been modified with a deeper sump and waterproofed belt drives, alternator, air conditioning compressor, power steering pump, and starter motor. Supercharged Range Rover Sports also get paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

To handle the extra power, four-piston calipers bite down on 14.2-inch ventilated front discs, and single-piston units grab 13.8-inch rotors in the rear with the naturally aspirated V8, while the supercharged V8 gets a six-piston caliper for the 15-inch front discs and a single-piston unit for the 14.3-inch rears. Likewise, the suspension gets some attention, with a stiffened front lower arm forward bushing to improve road feel at speed without sacrificing low-speed drivability, and a new Adaptive Dynamics System, which replaces traditional dampers with continually adjustable damper valves, which is being heralded by Land Rover as the world’s first production system for a computer-model-based predictive technology. The Terrain Response System has been similarly redesigned to better handle all terrain and conditions.

Visual changes include redesigned front bumpers, fenders, and grille, which is now surrounded in rather cheap-looking gray cladding, an interesting choice given the company’s desire to create a look that is “truly worthy of the Range Rover brand.” New LED headlamps have a circular accent, and the rear clusters have been similarly redesigned, along with the rear bumper, to coincide with the front. The interior has received attention by means of higher-quality materials, new front and back seats, LED ambient lighting, and a radical cleanup of the controls that has resulted in 50 percent fewer buttons and switches.