New Range Rover Sport luxury performance SUV avoided a perilous drop and defied a torrent of water to make its global premiere with a world-first demonstration of dynamic capability
The new Range Rover Sport was unveiled at the global premiere with a historic first ascent in the world on a flooded dam overflow in Iceland. During its historic rise, the new Range Rover Sport withstands a sudden torrent of water flowing down the ramp of the Karahnjukar Dam – the largest of its kind in the world – at a speed of 750 tons per minute. The risk of losing traction would mean sinking down a dangerous 90-meter drop at the foot of the dam overflow to the bottom of the valley below.
The third generation of Land Rover’s luxury performance SUV is the most desirable, technologically advanced and capable to date, mixing an imposing road presence with instinctive driving responses using the most advanced combination of chassis technologies ever fitted to a Land Rover.
The successful spillway ascent was screened for the first time at an exclusive launch event at Jaguar Land Rover’s Advanced Product Creation Centre in Gaydon, UK. Official James Bond stunt driver Jessica Hawkins was behind the wheel as the New Range Rover Sport demonstrated its grip, traction, performance and composure, completing the latest in a series of challenges for Land Rover’s luxury performance SUV. Previous feats include a record-setting hill-climb at Pikes Peak, a first recorded crossing of the ‘Empty Quarter’ desert in the Arabian Peninsula and a first ascent of the 999 steps to Heaven’s Gate in China, in 2018.
The spillway climb was the final obstacle on the drive from the valley floor to the summit of the dam, taking in a flooded riverbed, the concrete tunnels of the hydro-electric dam and the rocky dam wall itself. The final 294m stretch of spillway rises at 40-degrees and climbs 193m.
New Range Rover Sport is based on Land Rover’s advanced, flexible Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA-Flex), which provides the perfect foundations for its superior dynamics and peerless refinement. Its line-up of powerful and efficient powertrains includes two six-cylinder extended range Electric Hybrid plug-ins, which provide a pure-electric driving range of up to 70 miles (113km) and CO2 emissions as low as 18g/km.
The new 530PS V8 Twin Turbo provides sports car performance, with 0-60mph in as little as 4.3 seconds (0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds) with Dynamic Launch engaged. Customers can also choose from powerful and efficient mild hybrid petrol and diesel Ingenium engines, while pure-electric propulsion will be available in 2024, as Land Rover continues its electrification journey.
Contact: British Motors
