The first road car since the 1990s to wear the Cosworth badge will be announced later this week, CAR Online can reveal. The new Kahn Cosworth Range Rover Sport has been born of an unlikely alliance between Bradford-based premium styling outfit Kahn Design and old-school race engine builder Cosworth.
Full information on the new Cossie won’t be released until later this week, but CAR Online has obtained this exclusive teaser image. It reveals a heavily revised Sport, with extended wheelarches, side sills and a pretty serious spoiler pack at the back (a ducktail? On a Range Rover?!).
Kahn Cosworth Range Rover Sport: the idea
Work has been going on behind the scenes for some time on a Cosworth engineered tuning package for Project Kahn’s range of bespoke Range Rover Sports. But with the ink now dry on the contracts and the relationship due to be announced later this week, the Bradford-based purveyor of blinging wheels and bodykits finds itself paired with one of the most respected names in the business and primed to hit the big time.
It’s not clear yet exactly what engineering mods have been made by Cosworth, but our sources suggest the V8 supercharged model will put out well over the standard car’s 400bhp. There will be upgrades to the chassis and brakes, too.
Click ‘Next’ to read more about the Range Rover CosworthTo the uninitiated Kahn Design may not figure highly on the radar. But owner and figurehead Afzal Kahn has carefully cultivated the brand which now has followers all over the world. The firm offers wheels and styling packages for a range of cars, including Aston Martin, Bentley, Mercedes and Rolls Royce – but the core of its business remains hot Range Rovers. They do everything from a flash set of rims to bespoke bodystyling and interior refit packages.
Kahn Design hopes that forging a relationship with a respected engineering firm such as Cosworth will give the business added added credibility outside its existing customer base – not to mention providing a springboard for going head to head with the industry’s big hitters.
In typically bombastic style, Kahn himself is unabashed in his ambition. ‘Kahn Design is a British success story,’ he boasts. ‘Our entire ethos is all about British styling. The Kahn Cosworth Range Rover is just the beginning; I intend to put the British motor industry back on the map.’
Why Cosworth are involved
Cosworth chief exec Tim Roustis told CAR Online: ‘Over the last three years the engine tuner market has become very important for Cosworth. We have successfully steered our products and services towards high-end users. We are confident, that in partnership with Kahn Design, select consumers will be delighted to own distinctively styled cars with Cosworth tuned engines.’
Figures for the tuning packages are yet to be announced but with the 394bhp supercharged Range Rover Sport as a foundation the results are sure to be suitably spectacular. Suffice to say Ken Livingstone is unlikely to be joining Kahn’s roster of celebrity customers. But we bet there will be a few premiership footballers…
A welcome return for Cosworth? Or a branding exercise too far? Click ‘Add your comment’ and let us know