Range Rover celebrates its 30th anniversary in the States with the launch of the 2017 SVAutobiography Dynamic [News]

2017 Range Rover

Land Rover is celebrating 30 years of selling its iconic Range Rover in the United States this month, and as part of that celebration, the company is launching the SVAutobiography Dynamic, the latest Range Rover model.

The new Range Rover, which will go on sale this month, shares its 550-horsepower engine with the Range Rover Sport SVR. The supercharged, 5.0-liter V8 also makes more than 500 lb-ft of torque and moves the big SUV from 0-60 in 5.1 seconds, according to Land Rover.

Pricing has not been announced for the SVAutobiography Dynamic, which is built by Jaguar-Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division.

Although a new model, the latest Range Rover can trace its history back to 1970, when the first Range Rover two-door was first launched in Britain. A four-door version followed in 1981, but the Range Rover was still forbidden fruit in the United States, something that was seen on BBC safari programs but not on the streets.

That changed in 1987, when the Range Rover officially made its American debut on March 16.

Over the years, the Range Rover has, much like some of its counterparts like the Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol, evolved from a simple, rugged off-road machine to a full-on luxury car that just happens to also be able to go off road. While some look wistfully back at the older, simpler Range Rover, there’s no denying that it’s still one of the most off-road-capable cars on the planet. It’s just a bit comfier now, too.

Check out this TFLcar off-road video of the 2016 Range Rover diesel: