It was a no-brainer for Land Rover to unveil its new Range Rover Sport in New York. Not only is the US the biggest national market for the model, but JLR sells more RR Sports in the Big Apple than any other city in the world. The most road-oriented Land Rover to date, the 2014 Range Rover Sport was developed in tandem with its bigger brother, and slots in between it and the Evoque. It boasts a steeper windscreen, a more rounded shape, a lower roofline and a shorter overall length than the flagship Range Rover.

It's longer overall and in wheelbase than the model it replaces. It's also lighter than either, helping improve its on-road performance while also designed to handle off-road terrain with typical Land Rover aplomb. With 19 exterior and 11 interior color options, 3 contrasting roof colors and 7 wheel designs, personalization options are aplenty, but the technical features are more impressive. The new Range Rover Sport has a fully-independent aluminum air suspension, with wide-spaced double-wishbones at the front, and multi-link at the rear, as well as class-leading wheel travel.

Two 4WD systems (one with a two-speed transfer case and another with a lighter single-speed unit) and two engine options are on offer: a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 with 340 hp and a 5.0-liter s/c V8 with 500 hp. Diesel models will be offered in other markets, and a nine-speed automatic is set to replace the current 8-speed. But as it stands, the V8 model can hit 60 in just 5 secs. Inside, the new Range Rover Sport offers a third row of seating (to bring capacity up to seven) and all the luxury features you'd expect of an SUV that starts at $63,495 for the base model and $93,295 for the top-of-the-line V8.