The new plug-in hybrid Range Rover Sports has become the first car to climb to the 999 steps that lead to Heaven’s Gate in China.
The luxury off-roader took on the 11.3km hike complete with 99 tight turns which included mind-boggling angles of up to 45-degrees along “Dragon Road”.
The Heaven’s Gate is one of China’s most popular tourist attractions. It is built on the Tianmen Mountain. The Tianmen Mountain is 1518.6 meters high.
Due to its height, it is always covered by mist. This makes it difficult to tell where it begins and where it ends.
The Range Rover climb was even more impressive given it was done in a showroom spec model.
The P400e plug-in model – which twins a 295bhp engine with a 114bhp electric motor – only required one of its special off-road modes to get the job done.
To get to the Heaven’s Gate, the adventure begins with a ride in the world’s longest monorail Skyram. The ride spans 7.5 kilometres from the city centre. It is followed by a scary bus ride up the 11.3km Tianmen Mountain Road (referred to as the “Dragon Road”). It also has 99 hairpin bends.
And this is where they convinced Ho-Pin Tung – a car race driver – to drive the new Range Rover Sport PHEV to.
Indeed, cars are meant to drive on roads. Some are built to drive on treacherous ones. None, however, are meant to climb, yes climb, stairs, especially deadly steep stairs.
And Range as just proved to the world with the new Range Rover Sport PHEV can do both.
