2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport Preview

While the Range Rover Sport may share little in the way of mechanical componentry with its more luxurious namesake,

The Sport falls squarely between the LR3 and the Range Rover in terms of equipment and status. (Photo: Land Rover)

there is a clear family resemblance in its design.

On the topic of the slightly confusing name, Woolly acknowledges, "this car [the Sport] is a premium product like Range Rover and is very much part of that family." As such, the product planners not only used the current Range Rover, but previous models as well, for a starting point and for inspiration.

Cleverly, although the Sport fits between the Freelander and the LR3 in terms of size, it falls squarely between the LR3 and the Range Rover in terms of equipment and status.

Timeless styling cues, such as the Range Rover's clamshell hood, simple door shapes with oversized handles, the 'floating'

Product planners not only used the current Range Rover, but previous models as well, for a starting point and for inspiration. (Photo: Land Rover)

roof, kicked-up rear bumper and upright front end with large headlamps bridge the gap to the Sport, but the new car takes the concurrent theme a step further.

Acting as the flagship's harder-edged, spunkier 'little brother', the Sport is lower, rounder and more hunkered down than any previous model. This styling shift is also conveyed through front and rear windscreens which are more raked and a one-piece aluminum tailgate as opposed to the standard two-piece clamshell unit.