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Road ,News
FEB 01st 2022

Ethan Jupp

The best super SUVs ever made

That the classification ‘Super SUV’ even exists in this so-called era of CO2 reduction, downsizing and electrification is proof enough that we as a species, by and large, couldn’t give a monkeys about the environment. As the ocean boils and our atmosphere immolates, we’ll dream of pouring out a glass of champers in the back of our V12-powered Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet – roof up of course. Okay, maybe that’s a bit extreme. Perhaps it’s proof at least that while scientists and environmentalists squawk, money talks, and that there are enough people out there willing to buy these cars to make them hellaciously profitable. 

Their popularity is such that there are enough of these things now for us to really separate the cream of the crop. So let’s immerse ourselves and chart the history of the true super SUV, shall we? From the Lamborghini LM002, to the very latest Aston Martin DBX S.

Lamborghini LM002

Compared to what we have now, the Lamborghini LM002 just seems like harmless fun, doesn’t it? But with a 5.2-litre V12 engine in a military-style mud-plugging monster, it was the first super SUV. Because this is Lamborghini in the 1980s, just a few hundred were made, so as a model it doesn’t quite have the icecap’s blood on its hands. But it did prove that a big outrageous truck could be as much of a statement as a supercar, and wear the same badge…

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GMC Typhoon

But it wasn’t exactly fast. If performance defines these cars for you, then of all the unlikely marques, it was GMC with its Typhoon, which was the Rosetta Stone for the Super SUV. Its 4.3-litre turbocharged V6 wasn’t exactly exotic but it delivered the power to make the Typhoon (and its more famous Syclone pick-up sibling) not just one of the fastest utility vehicles you could buy but one of the fastest cars full-stop. In 1992 this 280PS (205kW) 1,700kg car could run with Ferraris and Corvettes, hitting 60mph in Car & Driver’s testing in 5.3 seconds.

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Volkswagen Touareg W12

It took ten years for the Europeans to really get on the Super SUV hype train. BMW did the prototype X5 V12 but never quite did an M version, Porsche brought out the Cayenne… and then Volkswagen exhumed Synchro concept’s magnificent W12 in its new SUV. Yes, the Volkswagen Touareg once had a W12 engine. Weird to think about when today’s ‘hot’ Touareg R uses a fairly standard twin-turbo V6. With 460PS (338kW) it could tackle the Cayenne Turbo at the time, though reports of 13.6mpg on average made long distances challenging. Not a car for the post-£1 a litre fuel era in the UK.

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Porsche Cayenne Turbo S

Not to be outdone by the people’s Super SUV, or any other for that matter, Porsche went a bit mad in 2006. Obviously crazy powerful Cayennes have come and gone since but this was the real penny drop moment for the modern Super SUV. The Cayenne Turbo S came with an absolutely monstrous 520PS (382kW), thanks to increased boost from its twin-turbo V8. At the time it was one of the most powerful production cars on the road but still, could only just best the old Typhoon to 60mph. What it did far better than any Super SUV before it, was stop, with its monster 380mm brake discs. If the original Cayenne Turbo didn’t set off the Super SUV arms race, this sure did.

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Audi Q7 V12 TDI

Audi’s response as the third in the trio of VAG manufacturers to introduce a Super SUV was… odd. Its Q7 was larger and more practical than its siblings. So how was the top-end version different? It was a diesel… a V12 diesel. Yes, for a brief time, you could get a 500PS (367kW), 1,000Nm (737.56lb ft) 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 diesel in your Q7. It was at least relevant, sort of, given Audi’s Le Mans-winning exploits with a V12 diesel. In today’s world where NOx is a swear word and Volkswagen is licking its dieselgate wounds, it’s entirely unbecoming. Drives into London come at the risk of Sadiq Khan finding you and personally keying it.

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Range Rover Sport SVR

The Range Rover was arguably the first luxury SUV, so why were they relatively late to the party? Because they were never a dedicated performance manufacturer. Sure there were a few supercharged Rangeys good for 400PS (294kW), even 500PS (367kW). But none went the full meat monster… until the SVR. The SVR changed everything. It was a thrill to drive, terrifying to behold and ear-assaultingly loud. Its 5.0-litre supercharged V8 was spun up to a faintly ridiculous 575PS (423kW), making this a Range Rover capable of 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 175mph. Frankly embarrassing for that Cayenne. Where do you go from here in terms of performance? 

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Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet

Well, you don’t. Not if you’re Mercedes. The marque has been excreting AMG SUVs since the original M-Class, though few have felt like anything more than an engine swap job. This thing though. Well, it’s scarcely believable. A Mercedes G-Class, with a twin-turbo V12, jacked-up dual-reservoir suspension… and a soft top. Welcome to the Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet – in many ways the Super SUV to end them all. Where else does 450mm of ground clearance meet a 630PS (463kW) AMG V12? Performance? No idea, and on he who dares head be it should the quest to find out go wrong.

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Lamborghini Urus

We’re finally up to the latest chapter of the Super SUV, where the Volkswagen Group retaliates. Between the Audi RSQ8 and various high-performance Cayennes on sale currently, we have 600PS (441kW) twin-turbo V8s, sub-four-second 0-62mph times and near-190mph top speeds. What we don’t have necessarily from those cars or beyond the Group, is a Super SUV that tries to look like a supercar. Enter Lamborghini with its Urus, related very closely to the Audi and Porsche. The difference? It gets a bump to 650PS (478kW) from the V8 alone and it tops out at 189.5mph. More importantly, though, it looks like a Lamborghini. Or at least it looks like a Huracan has been skinned and the resulting coat draped over an RSQ8. It doesn’t look attractive but does look super, in the more traditional sense. It also sounds like the backing track to heart palpitations in the ranks of Extinction Rebellion.

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Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

That Lambo is pretty powerful, isn’t it? Well, not according to the Americans, or Jeep specifically. With the supercharged 6.2-litre ‘Hellcat’ motor in its arsenal, it was only a matter of time before Chrysler gave the nod for the Grand Cherokee to get a 717PS (527kW) dollop of wallop. Said dollop has made the Trackhawk officially the world’s most powerful production SUV for the last three years, with the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid stopping short of the 700PS (514kW) mark. The Lambo and Porker will out drag it and beat it top-end thanks to better stability, aerodynamics, engine response and lower weight. But the Jeep, at least for now, retains the power Trump card…

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Bentley Bentayga Speed

It’s so sad that the Lamborghini Urus’ top speed is oh-so shy of 190mph. 189.5 just seems a bit of a cop-out. Leave it to the 635PS (467kW) twin-turbo W12 Bentley Bentayga Speed, to take the mantle of fastest OEM-produced SUV, topping out at 190mph officially. You can also spend £200,000 on an optional Breitling clock, so that’s pretty super. 

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Aston Martin DBX707

Finally, we arrive at the Aston Martin DBX707, the higher-performance, muscle-bound version of the marque’s breakout SUV. The name is the giveaway and indeed, the AMG-sourced engine does what it says on the tin, offering 707PS (519kW). That makes this the most powerful iteration of the AMG twin-turbo V8. Getting that extra punch to all four wheels is a wet-clutch nine-speed automatic transmission. It'll hit 62mph in 3.3 seconds on the way to a 193mph top speed, making it the fastest OEM SUV on sale. Although not, you'll notice, the most powerful ever, beaten as it is by the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat. Stopping it are, in Aston's words, "F1-derived" ceramic brakes with monster 420mm discs. It very much wears its added muscle on its sleeve on the outside, too, with a snarlier front end, enormous 23-inch wheels, more aggressive rear diffuser and quad tailpipe treatment. Is this the ultimate Super SUV to date? Let us know...

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