Range Rover Evoque Sport to get new 3.0L V6 Supercharged

Reports suggest that Land Rover will bolt the new Jaguar 3.0L V6 Supercharged in the Evoque to create the Range Rover Evoque Sport.

We’ve been mulling the probability of a Range Rover Evoque Sport since last year when we asked whether the inevitable Sport version of the Evoque would come with a turned-up Ecoboost lump or whether it would get the new Supercharged V6 Jaguar are putting in their cars.

Last month we looked at the Evoque Sport again after it was revealed that Land Rover Design Director Gerry McGovern has been driving round in an Evoque with an EcoBoost engine running at around 300bhp, suggesting the Ecoboost was perhaps the favoured option.

But according to Autoblog in the Netherlands Land Rover has decided it’s the new supercharged V6 heading under the bonnet of the Evoque.

That’s going to mean a bit of work to fit the new V6 transversely in the Evoque, but there should be no problem making it fit; the Evoque is basically a Freelander under the skin and the Freelander did, until recently, offer a transverse V6 option.

We can’t imagine Land Rover would give the Evoque Sport the full fat 380PS version of the new engine (although with the Porsche Macan expected to offer similar power at the top end, who knows?), but with 340PS the Evoque Sport would be swift.

Expect performance on a par with the current full-sized Range Rover Sport, which means a 0-62mph under 6 seconds and, with the Evoque’s better on-road manners, much more useable performance.

When can we expect to see the Range Rover Evoque Sport? Late 2013 at the earliest. How much will an Evoque Sport cost? Heading inexorably towards £60k by the time you add toys.