The Land Rover Range Rover Sport was the beneficiary just recently of design and technology updates, including plug-in hybrid technology in a new version that is set to hit the Canadian market this summer as a 2019 model.
For those who may doubt that the new electrified Range Rover Sport could display the off-road chops so closely associated with the model, this video may prove quite the eye-opener. In a world first, the hybrid SUV has just succeeded in climbing the 999 steps of the 45 degree-angle stairs that lead up to Heaven’s Gate, at the summit of Tianmen mountain in China!
The exploit – dubbed the Dragon Road Challenge in reference to the famed Dragon’s Road that stretches out over 11 mountainous kilometres and features 99 turns – was accomplished with the help of reinforced tires.
“I’ve experienced Formula E, Formula 1 and won at the 24 Hours of Le Mans but this was without doubt one of the most demanding driving challenges I’ve ever faced.”
- Ho-Pin Tung, Panasonic Jaguar Racing reserve and test driver, and Dragon Road Challenge driver
Already, the Range Rover Sport had beaten two professional swimmers in a water challenge, set a record in climbing Pikes Peak in Colorado, crossed the Empty Quarter desert on the Arabian Peninsula and managed the legendary 7,119-ft Inferno descent in Mürren, Switzerland.
Check out the video, catch your breath, and then click on the link for more details about the remarkable new Range Rover Sport and its hybrid version.