Range Rover Sport SVR smashes supercar’s time going up punishing 99-turn Tianmen Road
Supercharged SUV knocks 40 seconds off the time it took a Ferrari 458 Italia to tackle the iconic Chinese road in unofficial timing
The Range Rover Sport SVR has taken on the tight and twisting Tianmen Road in China, smashing a time set by the Ferrari 458 Italia supercar.
The high-performance SUV made its way up the 99-turn mountain pass in nine minutes 51 seconds, beating a benchmark time of 10 minutes 31 seconds set by racing driver Fabio Barone Mihaela in the Ferrari coupe in 2016.
The SUV was driven up the mountain by Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Chinese racer Ho-Pin Tung. Stunning footage of the high-speed run shows the 35-year-old hustle the SVR up the narrow, twisting road as it clings to the picturesque mountainside leaving no margin for error.
Facts at a glance
Following the run, Tung said: “I am used to the high speeds of racing but this was even more demanding. Maintaining concentration was the biggest challenge as the road twists and turns constantly, with huge drop-offs to the side.
“The consequences of getting it wrong would have been really serious so I focused on establishing a rhythm, and the Range Rover Sport SVR made this easy – it may be an SUV but it has the performance and agility of a supercar and can take you to places a supercar can only dream of.”
Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division has overhauled the standard Range Rover Sport for the SVR model, redesigning the front bumper to improve engine and brake cooling, fitting lightweight parts such as the optional carbon-fibre bonnet seen in the video, and upgrading the chassis to reduce body roll.
The Range Rover Sport SVR costs from £99,680.
