THE first plug-in electric vehicle from Land Rover will be part of a new-look Range Rover Sport line up going on sale now.

Priced from £70,800 the new Range Rover Sport P400e - as the plug-in hybrid will be known - can run on zero emissions for more than 30 miles and has a theoretical fuel return of 101mpg.

The part electric SUV It is part of Jaguar Land Rover's pledge to offer electrified options across all model ranges by 2020.

A plug-in hybrid Range Rover is already due to follow while next year Jaguar will be launched the fully-electric I-PACE SUV.

The Range Rover Sport PHEV is powered by a 2.0-litre Ingenium petrol engine developing 300hp and mated to an 85kw electric motor which runs from a lithium-ion battery pack slung below the rear of the car.

Together they have a combined output of 404bhp which gives the new model masses of performance.

Its acceleration 0 to 60 is 6.3 seconds making it the second quickest Range Rover Sport on the market, surpassed only by the V8 petrol models.

Top speed is 137mph and thanks to its fuel-efficient hybrid powertrain emissions are just 64g/km making it the cleanest Land Rover ever produced.

The petrol-electric combination also produces masses of pulling power - 640Nm of torque - boosting the plug-in hybrid's off-road abilities.

Recharging can take less than three hours from a fast charger or 7.5 hours from a domestic supply and the vehicle can be run in a variety of modes - full EV where it runs only on batteries or in hybrid configurations using both the petrol and electric motors for optimum performance.

As such, Land Rover says the new model will have a range of around 600 miles in everyday use.

The recharging point is behind the Land Rover badge on the front grille while the fuel tank filler remains at the back.

The plug-in model is coming on stream and Land Rover revamps the Range Rover Sport with a major interior overhaul and slight changes to the styling.

The cabin now includes two 10-inch touchscreens to control most of all the vehicle's functions and the layout is the same as that of the new Range Rover Velar which went on sale only a few weeks ago.

Like the Velar, the new Range Rover Sports have a 12-inch multi-mode instrument panel and can be fitted with head-up displays.

The P400e has air suspension and full off-road ability via Land Rover's Terrain Response system. It is also fitted with All Terrain Progress Control which enables it to grip in the poorest of conditions.

The hybrid powertrain is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and Land Rover says that the electrification of the power systems has done nothing to alter its go-anywhere abilities.

As with other Range Rover Sports it has a wading depth of almost three feet although the towing limit of the hybrid is restricted to 2.5 tonnes - one tonne less than the other models.

Boot space is also slightly reduced to accommodate the batteries with a capacity of 703 litres.

The new PHEV replaces the previous diesel-electric hybrid and with a weight of 2.47 tonnes it is on par with the V8 diesel model.

With the new-look cabin the Range Rover Sport line up is now priced from £61,315 - an increase of around £3,000 over the outgoing model which was introduced back in 2013.

There is also a new version of the flagship high performance SVR model being released with its supercharged engine now uprated to 575bhp - an increase of 25bhp over the previous model. 0 to 60 acceleration is now just 4.3 seconds with an unrestricted top speed of 174mph making it the quickest of all Land Rovers.

Fuel consumption is rated at 22.1mpg with a CO2 figure of 294g/km.

Styling options on the new SVR - now priced from £99,680 - include exposed carbon sections in the bonnet as well as added aerodynamics conveying its mighty performance.