Chinese automaker apologizes after attempt to recreate Range Rover's 'Stairway to Heaven' went badly wrong
Published on Nov 18, 2025 at 8:39 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Nov 19, 2025 at 12:15 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Chinese automaker Chery has apologized for the failed recreation of the Range Rover ‘Stairway to Heaven’ challenge.
Earlier in November 2025, automaker Chery tried to recreate the climb of 999 stairs with a Range Rover Sport PHEV on the Tianmen Mountain Road.
However, when Chery attempted the challenge, it went incredibly wrong and was a major PR blunder for the company.
Following the failed attempt, the Chinese manufacturer issued an apology after it failed to create the same amount of hype as Land Rover in 2018.
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What went wrong with the Chery Stairway to Heaven challenge?
In the original video, the Range Rover Sport PHEV SUV climbed ‘Heavens Gate‘ on the Tianmen Mountain Road.
This is an extremely steep stairway up the side of a mountain, made up of 999 steps.
Back in 2018, the Range Rover achieved this feat quite easily.
It flew up the steps, and its success made headlines around the world.
But when the Chery Fulwin X3L attempted it, the effort was a bit of a disaster.
The SUV got around three-quarters up the staircase before there was a loud pop.
A component fell off the SUV, and it then began rolling backwards and crashing into a railing and fence.
Needless to say, Chery’s effort had not gone the way it hoped it would.
The Chinese automaker issued an apology for the incident
The Chinese automaker issued an apology for its marketing failure.
It said that a safety rope became entangled in the right wheel of the SUV.
That led to it losing power and colliding with the guardrail and fence.
The company said the incident involved ‘oversights and insufficient risk assessments.’
It also apologized for the damage caused to Heaven’s Gate and said it would pay for the repairs.
We don’t know yet if Chery is going to make another attempt at the stunt after repairs are complete.
But given how badly this went wrong, we imagine they won’t be rushing back to recreate it.
What it does do, however, is showcase just how impressive the original Range Rover effort was.
So, Range Rover and Land Rover can still claim to be the only ones to take an SUV up the 999 steps. For now, anyway.
Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a leading heritage steam railway in England.
