Land Rover / YouTube
The Range Rover Sport PHEV hybrid SUV just became the first vehicle to ever complete the ‘Dragon Challenge’. In order to complete this challenge, the car had to climb 999 steps Heaven’s Gate, on Tainmen Mountain, China. The stairway has 99 turns and it’s at a dizzying 45-degree angle.
What I find to be the craziest aspect of this footage is how the Range Rover appears to be stable the entire climb up those winding stairs. I’m sure it didn’t feel so flat for the driver, pro racing driver Ho-Pin Tung, who was behind the wheel for this challenge. But to the outside observer it looked like the Ranger Rover Sport PHEV beasted its way through the course on a pretty even plane:
I’d love to see some stats related to this including 1) how many people/what percentage of drivers have ever driven a vehicle upstairs and 2) what percentage of vehicles are even capable of climbing stairs without getting stuck?
Here are a few more clips of the challenge:
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If you were wondering, the Range Rover Sport PHEV runs on a 116PS electric motor with a 300PS Ingenium petrol engine and produces 404bhp and 500Nm of torque according to Business Insider. I’ve always considered Range Rovers to be amongst the most luxurious SUVs on the planet and it appears as if everything underneath the hood is matching the quality of the vehicle inside.