The 99 turns and 999 steps of one of the most famous Chinese sites could not prevent the new Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid from reaching its goal. The hybrid sports SUV is the first vehicle to climb the steps leading to the natural arch of the Porte du Paradis.

Photo: DR

The challenge started at the foot of the legendary 11,3km long Tianmen Mountain route called the Dragon Route. The Range Rover Sport P400e started this challenge with Ho-Pin Tung, pilot of Panasonic Jaguar Racing, and the Terrain Response 2 system in Dynamic mode.

At the top of the road, the Formula E driver optimized the capabilities of the Terrain Response for the second part of the challenge of climbing 999 steps at 45 ° to reach the legendary Porte du Paradis in combined petrol / electric mode.

I have driven in Formula E, in Formula 1 and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but this challenge is undoubtedly the most demanding I have faced. The Range Rover Sport plug-in electric petrol hybrid was brilliant, inspired confidence on the mountain road and was able to climb the steps towards the Porte du Paradis without any apparent effort.

Ho-Pin Tung, Driver of Panasonic Jaguar Racing


The new rechargeable hybrid powertrain allows the Range Rover Sport to reach 50km in all-electric mode but Ho-Pin Tung relied on the combination of the 300hp of the Ingenium petrol engine and the 116hp of the electric motor to do nothing but a bite of the road section of the challenge. The SUV then demonstrated its renowned all-terrain ability to climb the stairs to the natural arch piercing the mountain.

This is the most difficult challenge ever envisaged for the Range Rover Sport. Reaching the top, we've proven the phenomenal capabilities of the Range Rover Sport plug-in electric gasoline hybrid like never before - with a world first.

Phil Jones, Land Rover Experience Expert

Photo: DR

The Challenge du Dragon follows a number of challenges taken up by the Range Rover Sport P400e plug-in hybrid after its debut against Keri-anne Payne, twice world champion in open water swimming and Ross Edgley, endurance athlete in Devon United Kingdom.

His other exploits include a climb record from Pikes Peak in the USA, a record of crossing the desert of the "empty quarter" in the Arabian peninsula and a descent of 2170m from the legendary track of the Inferno in Mürren in Switzerland.

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