This 608-HP Stretched Range Rover Carmel Edition Will Cost You $370,000

• Even Jaguar Land Rover's more affordable products reek of opulence, but the English brand is kicking it up a notch for Monterey Car Week.

• Launching the 2024 Range Rover SV Carmel Edition, the brand is committing to selling a 608-hp, $370,000, stretched Range Rover in honor of the protected bay.

• Only seven units will be sold and a chunk of the proceeds will be donated to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, following in the footsteps of the caramel-colored 2023 model.

Driving down US 101 from San Francisco International Airport to Carmel Highlands, there is not much to complain about behind the wheel of a 2024 Range Rover Velar. My already aging back is lumbar supported, power is ample from the 247-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, and my mirrors are gentling shaking courtesy of Andre Nickatina.

This feels like the lap of luxury to even the ever-spoiled auto journalist, who daily drives a Volkswagen Jetta.

But there is an entirely separate playing field where a subset of opulence connoisseurs shop, and Monterey Car Week is one of these venues. Jaguar Land Rover will launch a new model coinciding with the event, but it's not a run-of-the-mill executive package.

The design of this model is uniquely suited to its environment—after all, it is called the 2024 Range Rover SV Carmel Edition.

Following in the footsteps of the near caramel colored 2023 model year, the 2024 Range Rover SV Carmel Edition is getting deeper into those California Coast routes while offering an unbeatable ride in any of the four seats.

That's because it's built on the stretched, standard rear-screen, tray table-ready Range Rover SV, sporting a BMW-borrowed 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 making 608 hp. But all that power isn't necessarily for embarrassing a Porsche Boxster off the line.

No, anyone lucky enough to be driving or driven around in a Range Rover SV Carmel Edition is above that.

At least we'd assume so, given the $370,000 price tag. And only a select bunch of people will get the chance to purchase one, as seven of the four dozen folks in attendance for the curtain pull will be able to buy one. No staffers at Autoweek put in a bid for the limited edition.

Despite its potentially highest Range Rover price tag ever, the exterior design and interior features are at least worth a gander.

SV Bespoke Special Effect Gloss white exterior paint sparkles even in the dusk light, though the 23-inch triple-finish Diamond Turned Dark Grey Gloss forged alloy wheels stole the show. The light blue hue is ocean correct, too.

Inside, those seven buyers will find a powdered white front end and a burgundy backseat, to accentuate the divide between driver and passenger.

Two additional pieces of good news come with the 2024 Range Rover SV Carmel Edition. In JLR terms, those colors are a contrasting two-tone front-to-rear Perlino and Deep Garnet semi-aniline leather and Cream Ash Burr veneer trim plus gloss white ceramic touchpoints and Pearl Oyster carpet. It's a lot to look at but in an unattainably exciting way.

First, buyers will receive two sets of Titleist golf clubs with custom fittings. Even more important, however, is that an undisclosed portion of the $370,000 sticker price will be donated to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

This is not just a donation to offset the occasionally unsustainable ways of the auto industry, either.

JLR designers actually spent weeks in Monterey studying the wildlife in the area to help decide on the color palette of the car. And to keep this ecosystem going, JLR says it wants to do its part, too.

The Range Rover has many pop-cultural connections, but does one come to your mind in particular? Please share your thoughts below.