Land Rover have proved that its new Discovery Sport can pull its weight – and then some - by pulling not one, not two but THREE train carriages. The amazing test was to highlight the impressive towing capabilities of the car and it also proved the certified towing figure for the vehicle is somewhat underestimated.
The certified maximum towing capacity of 2,500kg (2.5 tonnes) but the car was able to pull 60 times that amount to form a luxury – albeit unorthodox – train through the Rhine region of northern Switzerland. The carriages weighed 100 tonnes which is the same as a Boeing-757 aircraft and the Land Rover towed them over the course 10km.
Surely it wasn't a standard car?!
At this point you may be thinking “a-ha, I bet it was modified” but no, the car was pretty much standard. The car was completely standard other than small rail wheels supplied by Aquarius Railroad Technologies which acted as stabilisers. Other than that it was down to the 178bhp diesel engine and the four-wheel drive system.
It didn’t have the help of a low-rang gearbox but the nine-speed automatic proved to be sufficient enough with the help of Land Rover’s Terrain Response, Tow Assist, Tow Hitch and All Terrain Progress Control.
Karl Richards, Lead Engineer for Stability Control Systems at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Towing is in Land Rover’s DNA, and despite Discovery Sport being the smallest model in the range, it has proved its exceptional towing capabilities.
“Over the years, we have introduced game-changing towing technologies to take the stress out of towing for our customers. I’ve spent most of my career travelling to the most punishing parts of the world to test Land Rovers in grueling conditions, yet this is the most extreme towing test I’ve ever done.”
If you fancy seeing the Discovery Sport in action then check out the video.