photo Land Rover
Range Rover on Heavens Gate photo Land Rover
Words by Perry Mack
Add one more thing to the list of marketing ploys that make no sense. In a bid to raise the profile of the Range Rover in new ways, Land Rover sent it to climb some stairs. Yes, that incredible feat we achieve when we’re three years old. 999 famous stairs with a panoramic backdrop, including 99 turns to be sure, but what does it really prove? Phil Jones, Land Rover Experience expert, said, "This was the hardest Range Rover Sport challenge I’ve ever been involved with because, until we reached the top, we couldn’t categorically say we would succeed. By making it to the summit, we’ve proven the phenomenal capability of the Range Rover Sport like never before – with a genuine world first.” So with a highly trained driver and special tires your SUV can climb stairs, hmm.
Previous stunts were more applicable to real world use, like the Pikes Peak record in 2013, when the 2014 Range Rover Sport set the record for the quickest hill climb by a production vehicle, running the 20 km (12.42mi) course in roughly 12.5 minutes, putting all 510 hp of the 5.0L supercharged V8 to good use. Even the record crossing of the ‘Empty Quarter’ desert in the Arabian Peninsula in up to 50°C (122°F) heat and the 2170 m (7,119ft) descent of the legendary Inferno downhill course in Mürren, Switzerland lent credibility to the durability and Terrain Response technology engineered into the Range Rover.
While the stair climb didn’t impress me, I do ask myself, “What will they think of next?”