Overfinch - still going strong, apparently

Years ago, Overfinch used to produce drastically modified versions of the original Range Rover. If I remember correctly, a typical change involved the replacement of Rover's own Buick-derived 3.5 litre V8 engine with a 5.7 litre small-block GM V8 combined with suitably uprated brakes and suspension. These cars cropped up regularly in Autocar and other motoring mags where they got a lot of favourable coverage.

I hadn't noticed any reporting on Overfinch for ages, and to the extent that I thought about it at all, I'd assumed that the Overfinch concept had probably been overtaken by Land Rover's policy of producing its own performance derivatives of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models.

So I was interested to see that Overfinch still seems to be in business, a fact I discovered when I popped into Tesco near Farnham during my recent Verdict testing with readers in Surrey for the Kia Picanto, and discovered the company's smart modern office next door.


Perhaps there's a way of getting our hands on one of these for the Verdict. We shall see.

What's outside today 8 - Range Rover Sport HSE TDV8

This is the Range Rover Sport fitted with the newish 3.6 litre V8 diesel engine.


This engine is by far the best choice for the bigger Land Rover models, so it's a slight mystery that it hasn't made it into the Discovery yet (the Range Rover Sport is much more similar under the skin to the Disco than it is to the standard Range Rover, so I'm assuming it would fit), especially given that the 4.4 litre petrol V8 seems to have been dropped as an option for the Disco, at least for the UK market.


The Range Rover Sport caused a bit of disappointment when it was launched because it didn't look as dramatic as the two-door Range Stormer concept car, but I still think it looks pretty good. I read somewhere that Land Rover might produce a de-blinged version, which would probably be even nicer.

Not keen on big SUVs in general but I usually make an exception for Land Rovers on the grounds of ability, authenticity, looks and Britishness.