Land Rover put its Special Vehicles (SV) division to work on another special called the Lansdowne Edition. Don’t worry, you can’t buy it — it’s limited to the UK, Land Rover is only making 16 of them, the production run sold in advance at £250,000 ($301,565 U.S.) a pop. The automaker didn’t explain the name, but it created the limited edition to celebrate a new boutique in London’s especially posh Mayfair suburb. Mayfair also happens to be the site of Lansdowne House, completed in 1768 as a residence for a succession of very important people, now the home of exclusive private entities like the Mayfair Club and soon to be Blackstone private equity’s global headquarters. To wit, the Land Rovers per capita figure for Landsowne regulars must be extraordinary.
To the SUV itself. The designers at Land Rover Special Vehicles say the colors are inspired by Mayfair’s architecture. This means an exclusive Lansdowne Grey Gloss paint topped with a Corris Grey Gloss roof and matching side mirror caps. There’s more Corris Gray along the inserts of the 23-inch Black Satin forged wheels. The grayscale parade touches the other side of the spectrum with SV Anthracite and Graphite Atlas accents, black chrome script badging fashioned by Fattorini, Britain’s oldest family-owned jeweler, and a black Land Rover oval with a white ceramic roundel and laser-etched SV logos.
The interior’s stitched up with Rosewood and Ebony “near aniline” leather, offset by Satin Black controls, leather-lined ebony mohair carpets, and moonlight chrome accents. The illuminated sill plates beam script reading “SV Bespoke – Lansdowne Edition 1 of 16.” And when it’s time to relax in something other than the business-class rear seats, the cargo area’s been optioned with the Tailgate Event Suite that enhances relaxation on the greens with extra lighting, extra audio, and tailored leather cushions.
Naturally, the sole engine option is the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque.
Lest anyone think this is Range Rover’s latest attempt at trying to creep up a price bracket or two, know that this isn’t new. In 1999, the automaker released just 10 examples the Range Rover Linley priced at £100,000, which the Bank of England says equates to £168,767 ($203,576 U.S.) today. And neither it nor the Lansdowne top the most recent SV creation, the SV Carmel Edition priced at $346,475 and limited to 17 examples.
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