Watch the moment Range Rover Sport made history by climbing to China’s Heaven’s Gate
- A Range Rover Sport once took on the ‘Dragon Challenge’ – climbing up China’s Heaven’s Gate
- The challenge included 99 hairpin bends and 999 steep stairs
- You can see how it all went in the clip below
Published on Jul 31, 2024 at 6:16 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jul 31, 2024 at 3:38 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A Range Rover Sport once took on the ‘Dragon Challenge’ – climbing up China’s Tianmen Mountain Road to get to Heaven’s Gate.
For those unfamiliar with the Tianmen Mountain Road in the Hunan Province, it’s a dizzying 11.3km stretch of road with 99 hairpin bends along the way.
At its summit, the road leads to 999 steps, which lead up to a natural rock arch known as Heaven’s Gate—a place that was once thought to be a link between mortals on Earth and the world of the gods.
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The Range Rover Sport made history
In February of 2018, Range Rover decided to see if it could take on a daunting world-first and become the first vehicle to ever climb to Heaven’s Gate.
The demanding road that leads to the mountain is unforgiving and leaves absolutely no room for error.
That was just half the task – after the road, the driver would need to face the steps, which at their steepest hit a 45-degree angle.
No, thank you.
In fact, it was the steps that made this particular challenge a world-first because while other vehicles had managed to take on the mountain road, none had successfully climbed that set of stairs.
To tackle such a feat, the Range Rover Sport was kitted out with reinforced tires and put Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Ho‑Pin Tung behind the wheel to give the challenge the best shot at success.
‘One of the most demanding challenges I’ve ever faced’
“I’ve experienced Formula E, Formula 1 and won at the 24 Hours of Le Mans but this was without doubt one of the most demanding driving challenges I’ve ever faced,” Tung said afterwards.
Heart-stopping footage shows the Range Rover ascending the stairs at an angle so steep it seems impossible before disappearing into the fog and finally reappearing at the top.
“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,” said Land Rover Experience expert Phil Jones.
“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.”
Very well done – but is anyone else wondering how they got the car back down?
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Claire Reid
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
