Range Rover: With 404 hp to the "gateway to heaven
STRONG PERFORMANCE The Range Rover Sport Plug-in Hybrid was the first car to master the dizzying 99 switchbacks and 999 steep steps of the Dragon Challenge up to the "Gate of Heaven". The new hybrid version with four-cylinder Ingenium gasoline engine and electric motor puts its combined system output of 404 hp to spectacular use on the pass road and stairs up Tianmen Mountain - to one of the [...]
The new hybrid version with a four-cylinder Ingenium gasoline engine and electric motor puts its combined system output of 404 hp to spectacular use on the pass road and stairs up Tianmen Mountain - up to one of China's landmarks, the "Gateway to Heaven" rock formation in Hunan Province. At the wheel of the Range Rover Sport was Le Mans winner Ho-Pin Tung from the Panasonic Jaguar Racing Formula E team.
Range Rover Sport P400e in full production trim
The challenge for driver and car begins at the foot of Tianmen Mountain. This is where the "Dragon Road" starts - an 11.3-kilometer serpentine pass road with no fewer than 99 switchbacks. The Range Rover Sport P400e starts the race in full production trim. For the ascent of the Dragon Road, the motorsport professional first selects the Dynamic mode of the Terrain Response 2 control system, which adjusts all the driving systems to the respective surface.
The target was a hole 131 high and 57 meters wide
Having reached the top of the road, the Formula E driver then optimizes the settings for the second part of the challenge: the 45-degree steep staircase with its 999 steps up to the legendary "Gateway to Heaven," a 131-meter-high and 57-meter-wide hole that nature has eroded into the rock over thousands of years.
