Car Advice is reporting that Land Rover is planning on introducing a high-performance version of the Discovery Sport that will rival the likes of the Audi SQ5.

Performance-oriented Discovery Sport

Speaking to Australian media at the 2014 Paris Motor Show, Murray Dietsch, director of programs, Land Rover, hinted that a diesel-powered sporty variant of the recently unveiled Discovery Sport might be on the cards.

Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern further confirmed that the company is working on flagship variants for every model across its three pillars – Discovery, Range Rover and Defender.

In addition, McGovern said that these special editions and personalisation’s need to be congruent with what that particular family is about. For example, “special editions for Discovery’s should talk to some degree the versatility of that family, if it’s Defender it’s the durability and dual-purposes of those vehicles, and if it’s Range Rover it’s the sophistication and execution.”

“What we’re trying to do is give the consumer more choice, but to do it in a way that maintains the integrity of the brand.”

The first of these special variants to launch will be the Range Rover Sport SVR, which will start reaching South African customers in early 2015 with prices starting at an estimated R1.7 million.