The Cotswolds is a bucolic picture postcard of fantasy English villages; gilded honey-stone hamlets with verdant greens where the vicar might umpire cricket matches, red telephone boxes, gastro pubs and cutesy cottages Farrow & Balled to within an inch of their life.
Which leads us to the long-wheelbase-only top-of-the-Range Rover SV, which is exactly the sort of vehicle you’d expect to see around here as Range Rover’s design direction, customer profile and price tags have evolved in parallel with the demographic of this Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire tranche – the golden triangle of Chipping Norton, Stow-on-the-Wold and Burford.
Now JLR has made it official by creating a very limited-edition car, the Range Rover SV Burford Edition, named after the eponymous town, which is considered the gateway to England’s largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The almost limitless personalisation options of the Range Rover SV Burford Edition are complemented by a state-of-the-art computer and latest generation infotainment system.
The Burford comes with 615bhp and a P615 V8 petrol engine and is described by the company as “the pinnacle of Range Rover personalisation” through its SV Bespoke department in Solihull, which is reserved exclusively for Range Rover Autobiography and SV clients.
The car will only be available to UK buyers, and just ten are being built. Pricing has not been revealed, though it’s thought to be about £250,000. The Burford Edition follows the similarly-priced and slightly different grey Lansdowne Edition, named after the marquess who resides at Wiltshire’s Bowood House. The Lansdowne debuted in February 2023 and all 16 sold instantly. Of the Burford Edition, JLR managing director Patrick McGillycuddy says it “builds on Range Rover’s exclusivity and luxury, and captures the essence of the Cotswolds – one of the most beautiful locations in the UK and the heartland of Range Rover.”
The two-tone interior in Light Cloud and Cinder Grey hues is made from luxury woven textiles instead of leather and coordinated with scatter cushions specifically designed for the Burford.
The materials and colour palette are very much Mod-Cotswolds rather than Trad-Cotswolds: Aether Grey with a satin finish for the exterior, and two-tone Light Cloud and Cinder Grey woven fabric on the inside instead of leather, along with a generous helping of scatter cushions. It’s how I imagine Geri Halliwell-Horner’s kitchen to look, just with a supercharged V8 instead of an Aga.
The Range Rover SV Burford Edition will be identifiable only by subtle badges on the exterior.
The manufacturer says the Burford Edition, which can be identified via discrete metal badging, takes its design cues “from the calm and beautiful British countryside” and that the town from which it takes its name “is synonymous with luxury rural lifestyle.” The colour palette is certainly sophisticated, but not terribly well suited to dogs, puddles, or what Uncle Monty called “beastly oomska”. Yet for lovers of the Golden Triangle, it’ll be their dream car rendered in reality.
The Burford Edition is set to be unveiled at Lady Bamford’s fashionable farm shop Daylesford Organic so the potential punters can pick up some emergency cashmere, scented candles and a few organic vegs at the same time.
Range Rover invites interested clients to liaise with their preferred Range Rover specialist.
Words: Adam Hay-Nicholls
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