A REPLICA of the Silverstone F1 race track has been carved into the icy wastes of Scandinavia to give the most powerful Range Rover in the world an Arctic blast.

With polar explorer Ben Saunders at the wheel of a Range Rover Sport SVR accompanied by former rally champion Minna Sillankorva, Land Rover's performance flagship blasted around the circuit built on the frozen waters of Lake Udjaur in northern Sweden.

The 550ps V8 vehicle has been created by Jaguar Land Rover's special vehicle operations team as the fastest Land Rover ever built and it's capable of 0 to 60 in supercar pace of 4.5 seconds.

Saunders, who has led expeditions to the North and South Poles, used the Range Rover's suite of sophisticated off-road traction systems to the full driving in near zero grip conditions.

The technology fitted to the Range Rover Sport SVR not only includes Land Rover's latest computerised Terrain Response equipment which automatically adjusts to cope with severe surfaces but also advanced traction and stability devices which can divert 100 per cent of the drive to a single wheel if necessary.

"It was my first time driving on ice and the most fun I've had on four-wheels," said Saunders.

"The performance of the Range Rover Sport SVR is simply breathtaking and its poise in the corners was astounding given the slippery conditions."

The £94,000 Range Rover Sport is the first JLR vehicle to wear the SVR badge which is to become the future marque of high performance models from both Jaguar and Land Rover.