Land Rover Discovery 5 to get SVO-tuned SVX off-road trim

This is what we've been waiting for. Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations have been on the scene for some time, but the outfit's work has been limited to high-performance on-road applications – the Range Rover Sport SVR, F-Type SVR, and the Project 7 – or pure luxury vehicles, like the Range Rover SVAutobiography. But with one half of JLR dedicated off-road vehicles, an SVO-tuned off-roader is long overdue.

According to a report from Autocar, we'll see this long-awaited SVO when the Discovery 5 (the car that will replace the US-market LR4) features a range-topping off-roader that wears the new SVX badge. This new model will arrive 12 to 18 months after the Disco 5 makes its debut, although that timeline will almost certainly apply to UK availability, considering the publication.

"Land Rover is all about bandwidth. What we have done over 65 years is broaden the breadth of capability of our vehicles," SVO boss John Edwards told Autocar. "We have taken the opportunity with the Sport SVR to go right, and SVX gives us a chance to go left."

Changes for the SVX will likely focus on the technological rather than mechanical, which says to us we'll be seeing clever, possibly electronic solutions to off-roading issues rather than simply boosting the ride height and upgrading the tires. If that grates the purists, so be it – SVO's goal is to show off the brand's technical mettle.

Don't think that the next Discovery will be the only vehicle to get this kind of treatment, of course. Edwards went on record with Autocar as saying "every nameplate" is considered for an SVO trim, with the publication suggesting that the exec's comments point strongly toward a Defender SVX. Whether that's correct or not, it's safe to say that Special Vehicle Operations will move beyond its current crop of ultra-luxury and high-performance vehicles (and soon).